Almost, Could've, Should've
by Kya-Healing Every Day
Summary: An old friend comes back to the Bureau and happens to fall for the Dark Prince, but will he fall for her? If so, can he do it before her powers kill her? NuadaxOC RedxLiz AbexNuala
1. Chapter 1

I laughed with my two friends. Liz and Nuala and I had been talking in my room. It was something we didn't do very often. With Liz and the twins and Nuala and Abe we never really had time to be girls. After giving the kids to my brother and his girlfriend for the night, Liz and I stole Nuala from both her boyfriend and her brother. We were heading to the library to make sure Red didn't kill Nuada.

"So, are you going to tell him?" Liz asked me.

"Tell who what?" Nuala was confused.

"Um, no. And I really don't want to explain…again," I answered both of my friends. "Does anyone else think it's weird that this is the first time since the twins were born we've had girl time?"

"Don't change the subject," Liz saw through me.

"Actually, it is a little strange," Nuala came to my rescue.

"Thank you! I mean we used to have girl time all the time when you were pregnant. Now we never have girl time," I continued.

"We're having girl time right now," Liz sighed. She opened the door to the library before she continued. Though what we saw made us speechless.

Inside the library were three very drunk guys listening to very loud music. All three had their arms on another's shoulders as they sang along with one of my CDs. Nuada was in-between Red and Abe as they sang to Hey There Delilah by The Plain White T's.

The girls and I watched from the door as they continued their song. I bit my lip in hopes of not interrupting with my laughter. Nuala stepped forward to stop them, but Liz and I grabbed one of her arms. Liz looked similar to me, holding in laughter.

The song ended and Abe caught sight of us. He smiled and stumbled over to his girlfriend. He grabbed her hands and danced with her as The Only Exception by Paramore came on. I laughed with Liz as they slow danced to the music. Red took Liz in his arms and forced her to dance with him.

I smiled and started to sing with the song. Nuada moved out of the way and swayed next to me. Whether it was because he was drunk or the music I wasn't sure. He seemed like he was going to fall, so I didn't do anything when he wrapped his arm around my shoulders. I just kept singing. I barely realized Nuada put his head on my shoulder until I felt his breath on my neck. I could smell the alcohol easily. How Red had gotten him to drink so, I didn't want to know.

As the slow song ended, _Once upon a December_ started. I smiled and swayed with the music. Red kept his grip on his wife and they danced over to the hallway. Liz laughed and waved at me. I waved back letting my dear old friend leave. Abe and Nuala danced over to Nuada and I while I paused during the song.

"Since Liz and Red have left, I believe it would be a good idea to take them to bed," Nuala smiled shyly. I smiled and wiggled my eyebrows. Abe looked away sheepishly, and Nuala turned red. I watched as the newest couple left through Abe's 'secret' room.

"Alright, Prince, let's get you to bed," I said, wrapping my arm around his waist. I pulled him up the few stairs to the double doors.

"Where are you taking me, goddess of the elements?" he slurred.

I was stunned by the name he gave me, seeing as how he told me my powers were useless. "To see the Keeper of Dreams," I replied carefully, before continuing leading him to his room.

"Is there a problem in the Night Realm?" he asked.

I thought as I made him turn down the hallway we shared. "No, Prince, but the Keeper needs to speak with you on something. He did not say why," I answered.

He stopped walking causing me to stumble. Only his hold on my shoulders kept me from face planting into the stone floor. "And why would the Keeper wish for you to bring me there?" he asked, making me face him.

"Hey, I'm just the messenger!" I tried to get out of his now quite tight grip.

"The Keeper must have found out… But how," Nuada started to mumble to where I couldn't hear him.

"I don't know what you're talking about. But, I have to get you to your room." I tried to pull Nuada forward, but he stayed frozen to his spot in the middle of the hallway. "Come on Prince, you need sleep."

"I need no such thing," he pushed me away from him. I stumbled and tripped before falling on my butt. "Who are you to tell me when I need sleep?"

"Come on!" I stood up, "You're acting like a child!" I tried to keep my voice down.

"Me? I am not the child! You are many hundreds of years younger than I," he retorted.

I sighed. "Do not make me hurt you Nuada. I really don't want to hurt your sister," I sighed, rubbing the bridge of my nose.

He laughed, "You hurt me? Ha. I never heard of such a thing." I sighed as he continued. "You couldn't hit me even if you tried."

I stared at him. I closed my eyes and breathed deeply for a few seconds before turning back down the hallway. I walked towards my room, leaving the Prince alone.

"Where are you going?" he called after me, "I did not command you to leave!"

"I don't work for you!" I called back as I unlocked my room. I felt, more than heard, Nuada suddenly behind me.

He wrapped his arms around my waist and lifted me into the air. "You do not leave until I permit you to," he growled in my ear. My body let out a slight shiver.

"I don't work for you," I whispered.

"No, but you will not leave until I tell you to," he growled in my ear. Another shiver ran through my body.

"Let me go," I tried to make my voice sound stronger than it did.

"Or what?" he laughed, "You have no weapon."

"Just because you can't see it, doesn't mean it's not there," I smirked a little as I created a small tornado around us. "Now put me down."

"You are in this as well. If I am to go down, so will you," he thought he had me.

"Oh really," my smirk widened as the plant I kept in my room grew and came up from under the slightly open door. "Better think twice about that. One last chance; put me down."

"Never," he growled. I felt a violent shiver run through my spine at the double meaning. The prince moved carefully out of my tornado and walked towards his room.

I struggled to put my feet on the ground, but he kept me in the air. The part of me that said to run was slowly being pushed aside by the part that wanted to know which meaning his words had. The tornado I created disappeared, while my door was closed by the vines I had created. Nuada opened his door and carried me into it.

"Now, why did you wish me to come here?" he asked, a slight growl in his voice. I stayed silent as I thought on how to explain without him yelling again. "Answer me," he growled into my back.

"Everyone was going to bed, and you had yet to sober. I was simply trying to get you to get some sleep," I whispered. His grip tightened around my waist. "Come on, Prince, you're hurting me," I tried to snap him out of whatever he was in.

"I will do more this if you don't tell the truth," he growled again. I tried to keep my body under control, but my breath became ragged as he continued to speak. "I will make sure you never forget what I do, if you don't start telling the truth."

"I am," I whispered breathlessly, "You need sleep, just like everyone."

"And I say, you are lying," he growled, "Now tell the truth, or suffer." He threatened as he pushed me onto his large bed.

"I'm telling the truth!" I yelled at him, "Now let me go to bed! I'm tired of this game of yours."

"Then sleep. I am not stopping you," he smirked. I glared and moved to get off the bed. Before my feet touched the floor, Nuada had me pinned to the mattress. "But you will sleep here until you tell the truth."

My glare intensified at his words. "I am telling the truth! I wanted you to get some rest! Now let me go to my room!" Nuada seemed shocked at my outrage. He stood for the pin and held out his hand for me. I watched him carefully before ignoring his hand. I continued to ignore it as I got off his bed.

I left his room without looking back at him, no matter how much I wanted to. I walked the five paces to my room before reopening my door. I walked into the dark space and closed the door before leaning against it. My breathing was raged as I thought of what could have happened in his room.

I flipped on the lights to brighten my room. I stared straight ahead into the mirror. My reflection moved while I stayed still.

"You should've let him have his way," my reflection told me.

"He was drunk," I whispered to her.

"So? He would've taken you, human or not," she smirked at me. I slid down the door and watched as she stayed standing.

"But it wouldn't have been because he loves me," I breathed out.

"Ah, you still want love. Poor, stupid, little girl. You keep forgetting, he hates humans," she laughed before she was replaced with a perfect image of me now.

I stood up and walked over to my bed. I pulled off my sweatpants and shirt before slipping under the green comforter and aqua blue sheets. I sighed at the feel of the warm bed before letting sleep come over me.

* * *

I might make a story, I don't know. If you want me to continue, let me know.


	2. Chapter 2

"Time to get up!" my brother yelled from outside my room.

"I'm up! I'm up!" I yelled back. "Give me a second!" I yelled, falling out of my warm bed. "Ow," I mumbled before untangling myself from my covers.

"Come on Sis! You need to get up!" the annoying brat called.

"I'm coming!" I yelled. I pulled myself off the floor and grabbed my red and orange robe. "What do you want?" I asked opening my door.

"His Royal Princeness won't come out of his room. Nuala says it has something to do with you," the dark skinned boy smirked. "So wha'd you do last night?"

"I took him to his room. We yelled at each other. I went to my room and passed out. Now leave so I can dress," I tried not to yell.

"Alright, but Red wants you to get him out of there. Says it's time for his Royal Ass-ness to get his ass kicked," my brother told me before walking away laughing.

I sighed and entered my room. I dropped the robe as I walked to my personal bathroom. Staring into the mirror showed a dark blonde with tan skin and color changing eyes. I could never catch the color before it changed to another. I sighed and turned on the shower.

"Today is going to be long," I said aloud.

"Of course it is," my reflection told me, "You didn't let the Prince fuck you."

"Not this again. I told you, it wouldn't have been out of love; just drunken sex," I stated as I adjusted the water.

"Ah, right, you want love. Jesus, you need to open your eyes," she told me.

"Alright, I get it. I shouldn't have given up my power of time. I get it," I pulled off my underwear, "You hate me for giving you my time abilities, I get it Time Lady. But don't tell me to open my eyes when you and I both saw what happened last night."

"And I know what would have happened if you let him have his way. No trust. No trust at all," her last words floated towards me as she disappeared.

"Shit! Why does she have to ruin my days further than it already is?" I yelled before sighing. "Don't let her get to you. You gave up your time powers so you wouldn't have problems with visions. It's as simple as that. Just ignore her."

I sighed and stepped into the shower. The warm water felt great against my cold body. I washed the night's sweat off and washed my hair before getting out and drying off.

I pulled the towel to wrap my hair up. I walked out of the bathroom and opened the closet. I took out my green dress and put it on my bed. I sighed again and pulled out some blue tights. I pulled on my clothes and reentered my bathroom. I dried my hair and pulled it back.

"Well, I better get him out of his room," I sighed and left my room. I walked over to Nuada's door and knocked. I heard shuffling around, so I knew he was awake.

"If you are not Nuala, go away," he called.

"Open up! Red wants to fight you and he wants to now!" I yelled at him through the door.

The door opened to Nuada in tan, possibly leather, pants and no shirt. His hair was dripping with sweat. "What do you want?" he growled at me. A shiver ran up my spine.

"_I_ don't want anything. _Red_ wants to fight. Just as I said," I looked at him.

"Tell him I will not fight him today," he turned to leave.

"Nope, not happening," I told him. He paused and turned back to face me.

"What?" he growled.

"I'm not telling him. I promised Liz I'd help with the twins. I'm not going to the training rooms today. You have to tell him," I told him.

"You will tell the demon, or I will make sure you regret the way you have talked to me," he growled.

"Um, no, I have to get to Liz so I can help her. You can go to the training rooms and tell Red yourself," I told him before turning to go help with the twins. I stopped when a hand grabbed my arm. I turned to see Nuada fuming. "Hey, I'm just the messenger. Eric told me to get you out so you can fight Red. If you don't want to fight him, go tell him yourself."

"I will not leave so you may go back to bed. You will tell the demon I am not going to fight him," growling seems to be the only thing he could do.

"I'm not lying. I promised Liz I'd help with the twins. Now release me," I tried to get my arm free.

"You continue to say you don't lie, but I can see it in your eyes," his voice dropped an octave.

I was stunned for a moment before I caught what he had said. "My eyes are not always mine," I whispered. He raised one of his eyebrows. "My powers come with a cost, okay? I have to deal with it, you don't. So don't ask," I told him as I had explained to Liz and Red years before.

"What cost?" his grip on my arm tightened.

"Ah, come on, let go!" I hissed. "My powers are none of your concern."

"If they threaten my sister, they do," the grip tightened again. I could feel my muscles try to fend him off.

"They don't threaten anyone," I said softly. "The only one they threaten is me."

His grip went slack, but only a little. A few seconds passed in tense silence. "How so?" his question was slow and seemed uncertain.

"My powers are dangerous, but only to me. If I let them get out of control, they'll kill me," I whispered. I strengthened my voice before speaking again. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go help Liz."

His hand dropped from my arm and I took my leave once more. I nodded my head to him as I left, but didn't acknowledge him any other way. I walked down the halls towards the nursery. I passed a group of agents as I walked down one of the longer halls. I couldn't help but over hear their conversation.

"Yeah, the dog just attacked him," one said unusually loudly.

"Wha'd he do?" another asked.

"Said he shot the beast, right in the chest," the first one replied. "Then, apparently it still jumped him. Said the only thing that kept him alive was when his daughter came into the room."

"Strange," the third commented, "to think his daughter saved him."

"Yeah, he said the thing caught whiff of his daughter and ran for the hills," the first agent said as they turned a corner.

"A dog that doesn't want to hurt a little girl?" I thought aloud. I kept walking as I thought about what they said. As I pushed the door to the nursery open, I remembered where I heard that before.

* * *

I would like to thank all of the people who have reviewed by this point. The first day this was up, I had people telling me to continue! Thanks for that. I'm happy to know you guys like this. So I will be making this into a full out story. Warn me if any of the _Hellboy_ characters get OOC. Thanks


	3. Chapter 3

I rushed into the nursery to get Liz and Hellboy. Once I entered the room however, I only saw Abe. He was sitting next to one of the cribs with a book in his hand. When he heard me enter, he looked up.

"Good Heavens, Cara, are you alright?" he asked as he stood and came towards me.

"Where are Liz and Red?" I asked quickly.

"Liz is in the bathroom, and Red is waiting for the prince in the Training room. Why?" Abe spoke softly as he ushered me into the rocking chair.

"I think there might have been another hellhound attacking," I whispered. Hellhounds were my newest fear. I had been afraid of them since Dr. Broom's death. Right after he died, I was attacked by one. It had nearly killed me.

"Why do you think that?" Abe questioned.

"There were some agents talking in the hall. What they described… it's a branch of hellhound," I tried to sound composed, though probably failed since Abe looked even more concerned than before.

"Are you sure?" Nuala's sweet voice came from the door. She stood watching me with eyes which appeared just as concerned as Abe's. I nodded. Her sharp intake of breath reached my ears. At that point I was wondering if I should have told her about the hellhound attack. The thought left me as she started speaking once again. "I'll go to the training room and get my brother and Hellboy. Abraham, get Liz. Please, Cara, if you know anything else, tell us." With that she exited the room to fetch Red and Nuada.

"Come Cara, let's find Liz," Abe helped me to stand.

"We should bring the kids," I murmured.

"Bring the kids where?" I looked up to see Liz standing at the open door.

"Cara believes there's another hellhound loose," Abe told her. "I'm not sure why she wants to bring the twins."

They looked towards me. I sighed. "This branch of hellhound is afraid of children. Or rather, they're afraid of hurting them," I told them.

"Alright then. Abe grab Ethan; I'll get Trevor," Liz went into 'combat mode'.

I was shocked she was allowing us to take the twins, but the fact her face hardened even more put me at ease. It was one of those times when I was happy to have Liz on our side. I had only felt the wrath of her 'combat mode' twice in my time with the bureau. Once was when we first met and I insulted both her and Red; she had attacked me with both words and fists that day. The second was when I almost shot Red on a mission; I had cuts and bruises for two weeks afterwards. This time I was certain she was using her defense system, combined with motherly instinct, to protect her children.

Abe did as she told him and wrapped his webbed hands around the little boy out of his crib. The red skinned child looked up at him with wide eyes. Ethan was named after Liz's father. Red found it fitting since they named the older of the two after Dr. Broom. Liz picked up her pale skinned boy out of his crib and carried the sleeping Trevor towards the door. I picked up the diaper bag and followed after them.

We walked down the halls towards the training room. We passed many other agents; among them were my brother and his girlfriend. Once we reached the door, we saw that Nuala was trying to reason with Nuada. Liz took a deep breath before entering the war-zone like room.

"Red!" she yelled into the loud room. "We have to go!"

The big red monkey man ran over to her, his brow creased with worry. "What's wrong babe?" he asked while he made his way over to us.

"Cara thinks there's another hellhound in the city," Liz told him. Many of the agents watching us by the large metal doors gasped after her announcement.

"What?" Red asked, looking between Liz and me. I lowered my head.

"As I said brother, we need to go," Nuala spoke after a moment of silence.

"We need to hurry," Abe's voice was urgent as he warned us. Many of the other agents grabbed their weapons and got ready.

Red looked over to Nuada before speaking. "Ready for a fight?" he asked cockily.

Nuada smirked at him. "Are you, demon?" he replied.

The two smirked at each other and grabbed their weapons of choice. Liz had a slight smirk on her face as well. I stepped away from my friends. Nuala took hold of my arm and pulled me away from them.

"Could you do me a favor, Cara?" she asked quietly. Her gaze shifted as she glanced behind me. Her worried eyes took another, happy, look to them.

I looked back and saw Abe watching us. I smiled at her. "I'll watch him, and protect him as much as I can."

"Thank you," she breathed. I smiled at her and gave her a hug. "Take care of yourself as well though."

I nodded and released her. "I'll do my best," I smiled. She smiled as well.

"Come on Cara!" Liz called from behind me. "Let's go!"

"I'm coming!" I called back. Nuala nodded to me and handed me my belt from the concrete wall behind her. I took it and wrapped it around the green fabric around my waist.

I ran to catch up to everyone. Red led the way through the halls. Nuada was behind him. Liz and Abe were in the back carrying the twins. I caught up and stayed next to Liz.

"Where do ya think this thing is, Cara?" Red asked when I caught up.

"It's probably as far from kids as it can get. All I know is that they're afraid of hurting children," I explained, tightening my grip on the blue strap of the star covered diaper bag.

"So prob'ly a workplace far from a park," Red deduced.

"Agent Hellboy!" a loud German accented voiced yelled. "Vee are needed in an old car factory near New York City," Dr. Krauss stepped in front of us. His suit did its strange clicking sound as he stopped in front of our rushed group. The white mist like substance danced in the clear glass bowl that served as a head.

"Would that work?" Red turned his head to me. I nodded. "Alright! Let's get going!"

Again Hellboy led us down the halls, but this time towards the hanger. Dr. Krauss let us pass, but fell into step with me to my right, next to me, the metal feet clanging against the tile as he walked.

"Vat is Agent Hellboy talking about, Ms. Voodsmith?" he asked me.

"I'm pretty sure there's a hellhound on the loose. We were just talking about where it could be. It might be in the factory we're going to," I explained.

"I see," he huffed. "Do you know any ozer information?"

"I'm pretty sure this breed doesn't want to hurt children. One myth I saw said that if they harm a kid they die, but I'm not sure if it's true," I answered.

"Zen vee better hurry." Red increased his pace into a run. Liz and Abe hurried to catch up while I jogged behind them.

We entered the hanger where Manning began asking Red to not make a scene. Liz and I rolled our eyes and locked gazes. We were laughing as we got into the fake garbage truck. A few minutes later, Hellboy got in with two new cigars in his hands.


	4. Chapter 4

The ride was silent as everyone prepared for the battle. Red had put his cigars away and I knew he wouldn't smoke them now. He had tried to cut back around the kids. Liz and I were taking care of the twins. Ethan had been moved to my lap, where he slept peacefully. Trevor, on the other hand, was encased in blue flames of his own making. Though I was able to control fire, I was not immune to it, so Liz held her flaming son all the while keeping the flames from hurting anyone.

Across from me was Abe trying to put on his breathing apparatus. He was having trouble with keeping the water inside. I smiled at him and waved my hand. The water that had spilt hovered in the air in front of him. He looked up at me and smiled, then finished putting his apparatus on as I kept the water from coming out. When he had it set up, he opened the water container for me. I grinned and waved my hand again.

Ethan and Trevor were watching the hovering water. Trevor's flames were gone and Ethan had woken up. I controlled the water into shapes of people, animals, and other creatures they would recognize. I commanded each to line up in-between the two benches and then to march into the apparatus. The boys giggled and clapped when the performance was done.

I glanced around and saw that everyone was now smiling. I felt my cheeks warm up and bowed my head. I felt a tug on my hair and looked up. Trevor had reached over and was pointing at the air where my army had once been. I smiled at him. His hand was instantly on fire.

"Trevor!" Liz warned the red-skinned boy.

"It's okay Liz. He just wants to see the fire move like the water, isn't that right Trevor?" I spoke to him as if he were an adult.

He pushed his hand towards me then out in front of him. I smiled.

"Can you control zee fire zee same vay?" Krauss asked from his seat.

"Not exactly the same way," I tried to explain. "Fire isn't as controllable as water, so sometimes I get burned. However, creating shapes is about the easiest thing to do with three of the four elements." I took the fire from Trevor and warped it into different animals.

"Which is the hardest to control like that?" Abe asked.

"Earth," I answered as the fire took the shape of a white flame Liz and a red flame Red. Liz's hair was wild with flames while Red held a flaming gun in his hand. "Earth has a true shape. To change it into another shape like this, without harming it, I have to fold it. It's a lot harder since the folds have to be perfect."

"Dada!" Ethan giggled.

"Mama!" Trevor answered his brother.

I smiled at them and made two little fire children. The white flamed one was covered it blue flames in Liz's arms. The red flame one was sitting on Red's shoulder with a small orange gun in his hand. "And Trevor and Ethan," I told them. They clapped with smiles spread across their faces.

"And air?" I heard Nuada ask. I turned my head to him and raised my eyebrow. "You can control air?" he continued with a hint of anger.

I nodded. "It's easier than fire, but harder than water." I gathered the wind to form three shapes. Two looked similar, but it was clear one was female and the other male, while the third was larger and bulkier; they were Nuala, Nuada, and Dr. Krauss. "I have to speed the wind up so it can be seen. That's probably the hardest part."

"Nu-Nu!" Trevor exclaimed. I smiled. I could see Liz hold in a laugh. It was always funny what the twins called Nuada.

"Na-Na!" Ethan giggled. I could never understand why Nuala was Na-Na.

"And Krauss," Liz smiled at her boys.

"K-a-s," Trevor sounded the name out.

"Kas!" Ethan giggled. I caught Red's chuckle.

I smiled and pulled the water from my belt and started to create another figure, Abe. The water took shape easily. I felt my control of the fire and wind slip before a field of light pink surrounded my fire figures. I took a second to thank Tiara for freezing them in time. Even if she annoyed me, she still helped once in a while. The field spread to my wind figures and held them as well. My control was back.

"Hey, it's you Blue!" Red smirked.

"Bu-Bu!" Ethan giggled, clapping. Abe smiled.

"What about you, Cara?" Liz asked.

"I'm getting there," I told her. I opened the pocket on my belt and picked out a white vine. I wasn't sure how its pigment was white, but I loved it. Water flew to my hand and the two elements started to wrap around each other. I looked up and saw a pink field everywhere. I shook my head.

"Really, Tiara?" I asked the air. I knew she wouldn't answer, there were no mirrors. I took some of the fire off of Red and pulled it towards myself. The fire mixed with the other elements in my hand, but didn't burn the plant or evaporated the water. I sped up the wind and had then formed a small figure of myself. I willed it to stand with the others.

The pink hue snapped back to the figures and time sped up. I heard a small whisper of an apology from the Time Lady. A small part of the hue stayed and formed another figure, Tiara.

"There," I smiled to everyone.

"Ca-Ra!" the twins yelled out. I laughed.

Our joyous mood dissipated when the truck stopped. The twins stopped laughing as the adults got serious. I took the water back into my belt and stopped the wind. I then collected the fire into my hand.

Liz and I stood up with the kids in our hands. She took half the fire and created another light. Red cocked his gun and jumped out of the back. Nuada and Abe followed behind him with their gear. Red helped Liz out since she had her hands full. I commanded the fire to hover and let Krauss and Abe help me down. Once my feet hit the concrete, I took the fire back in my hand.

"We should split up," Abe suggested.

"Well, the kids should stay with separate groups," I told them.

"Two groups then," Liz summarized.

"Yeah, but who's with who?"

"I'll go with Red and Abe. You go with Nuada." I couldn't help but glare at my long-time friend.

"I vill stay here and help from zee truck," Krauss told us.


	5. Chapter 5

Last Time:

"We should split up," Abe suggested.

"Well, the kids should stay with separate groups," I told them.

"Two groups then," Liz summarized.

"Yeah, but who's with who?"

"I'll go with Red and Abe. You go with Nuada." I couldn't help but glare at my long-time friend.

"I vill stay here and help from zee truck," Krauss told us.

I kept my gaze straight as I spun a light ring of water around Abe's ankle. I could tell he knew it was there. Nuada and I started for the stairs, heading up to the top floor. Ethan clung to my body while the hairs on the back of my neck stood straight.

"Watch your back," I heard Tiara whisper. I glanced around and saw her watching Nuada from a broken mirror. I nodded to her. "Keep your eyes up and your weapons ready." Then she was replaced with my own reflection.

I looked above our heads and noticed the shadows moving. Ethan seemed to see it too as he pulled himself closer to me.

"Nuada," I called quietly. He stopped and watched me. "The shadows." I motioned to the rafters of the third floor.

Nuada nodded. He started walking when I was beside him. "The beast is here." We paused to survey our surroundings. "Do you know how to kill it?"

"I'll have to think. The only thing I can think of is the myth that if one harms a child the hound dies. Other than that, I can't remember." I glanced over to see him watching the rafters. I could see the muscles of his jaw clench as he thought. I knew enough about Elves to know they wouldn't put a child at risk.

"Find someplace you can think. Hide and think fast." Nuada's orders were quick and simple. I could see his arms tense. I didn't need another invitation.

I ran away from Nuada and towards an overturned table. Just as I got behind it, I heard the growl of the hellhound.

"Oh, shit," I cursed. I took a deep breath and hugged Ethan close to me. "Kid, what you're about to see will never leave us." I pulled out my radio and started talking. "Guys, it's on the third floor. Nuada's fighting it now. I don't know how many there are…" I paused and looked behind me to see another one. "…two that I know of." I dropped my radio and bolted.

I ran down a hallway and entered a room, sealing the door with a thick layer of ice before I looked around. I was in the men's bathroom. I was brought back to reality when the hellhound attacked the door. I back up and pressed my back against the wall farthest from the door.

"Bet you wish you messed with the prince now," I heard Tiara gloat.

"Shut up if you're not going to help." I glanced over to her as the world turned pink.

"Ethan will stay put. There's someone on the fourth floor. Go through the vents to get him."

"Is he controlling them?" I asked as I carefully let Ethan go. He stayed in his ball in midair.

"No, but it'll distract them."

I didn't wait for her to continue as I turned my body into pure water. I moved each of the molecules up a floor and reformed my body when everything was up there. I was standing in front of an older man, clearly human. His hair was white and he hid his eyes. His clothes appeared too nice for me to consider homeless. I noticed a small gem in his hands. He was a thief.

I sighed and formed a blade of sharp ice before making a large cut on his cheek. I evaporated the blade and turned into water again before reappearing in the bathroom. I took hold of Ethan as the world was freed of its pink hue.

The pounding on the door stopped and I heard the second hound run past. I waited for a minute before leaving the room. Nuada was running towards me as soon as I entered the large room I left him in.

"Is the child harmed?" he asked.

"No, I ran before Ethan was hurt." I glanced over at the broken mirror to see Tiara pointing to her wrist. The hounds would be back soon.

"'ey! Where's the fight?" Red called.

"Upstairs," I replied. Red ran past while Abe took Ethan from my sweaty grip. Nuada ran after Red. Liz ran up to us with a crying Trevor in her arms.

"Ti?" he asked. I nodded as Liz took in a sharp breath. "Thank her for me."

"Gladly," I replied as we started jogging after the others.

"Any ideas on how to kill these things?" Liz asked.

"Without hurting the boys? No. I think we might be able to contain them though. I'm working a plan in my head right now." I slowed as we heard fighting.

"The risks?" Abe asked.

"Well, I can make sure that the boys are safe. It's everyone else I'm worried about." I thought back to my promise to Nuala. "The twins will be fine. Nuada will probably get out of the way. Liz, you should be able to get Red out of there. Abe, I'm pretty sure there isn't a risk in hurting you."

"What about you?" Liz asked. I noticed the glint in her eyes. She was in full 'combat mode' now. I had to keep her from the fight.

"No risks. Liz, get Red out of here. Abe, give me Ethan. Nuada should be able to help me."

"What about Trevor?" Abe asked.

I flicked my hand and the crying boy was in the air. "I've got him. Now get to safety."

Liz and I ran into the loud war-like room. Liz yelled for her husband while I had Trevor floating above our heads. I ran over to Nuada and pulled him out of the way of one of the hound's attacks.

"Help me get them cornered!" I yelled to him over the ringing sound of Red's gun.

Nuada nodded and we raced away from each other. With Ethan in my arms, the hounds hurried to where Nuada was waiting. Red was by the door shooting at them still. As Nuada and I cornered them, I lowered Trevor so they would hear his cries. I held up my hand and Red stopped shooting.

Ethan peeked out from my curtain of hair and saw the two large hounds and started crying. The hounds started pacing, trying to find a way to run away. Trevor and Ethan's cries grew louder. With each wail from the boys, the hounds moved faster and became more agitated. I did nothing to sooth the crying boys as the hounds began to turn from the greenish gray to a fiery blue.

After six long minutes the hellhounds turned into ash. We had won the fight.


	6. Chapter 6

Last Time:

As Nuada and I cornered them, I lowered Trevor so they would hear his cries. I held up my hand and Red stopped shooting.

Ethan peeked out from my curtain of hair and saw the two large hounds and started crying. The hounds started pacing, trying to find a way to run away. Trevor and Ethan's cries grew louder. With each wail from the boys, the hounds moved faster and became more agitated. I did nothing to sooth the crying boys as the hounds began to turn from the greenish gray to a fiery blue.

After six long minutes the hellhounds turned into ash. We had won the fight.

Dr. Krauss was waiting for us when we arrived outside. Liz and Red held their children, letting their presence calm the babies. Abe was helping me walk since I had tripped over some of the trash on one of the upper floors. I had been using the water in my body to float, but my powers were growing weak. Abe had offered his support, and I accepted.

Krauss and Abe helped me into the truck. Liz sat down next to me with Trevor tucked against her body. I laid my head on her shoulder and closed my eyes. I had never been so tired in my life. Liz set her head on top of mine and we drifted to sleep.

I could hear voices. They were arguing. It sounded like two males. I fought the urge to listen and instead drifted off once more.

I was lying down on my back. I felt a soft mattress under my body. I kept my eyes shut, listening to my surroundings.

I could hear the soft breathing of someone sleeping, though the sound was distant in the room. Wherever I was, it was so bright I could see the light through my eyelids. I heard the sleeping person stir and turned my head towards the sound.

I opened my eyes to see my brother sleeping fitfully in a very uncomfortable chair. I glanced around at my surroundings. I was in the Med-Lab.

The Med-Lab was the Medical Wing. When I first arrived, it was simply the Medical Wing. Two years later they added a Laboratory at the end of the large hall. Thereafter, it was dubbed the Med-Lab by all of the agents.

"Eric?" I breathed out. My throat was sore. My brother opened his eyes and stared at me. It took him a second to realize it was me.

"Cara!" he jumped out of his chair as he shouted. I heard running outside in the hallway, but ignored it.

"Why, why am I here?" I asked as I tried to sit up. "Can I have some water?"

"Yea, sure, of course!" Eric yelled. He left me without an answer to my question. I sighed at his forgetful antics.

I heard the door open and leaned forward to see Liz and Nuala coming into my room. I turned my body and tried to set up the pillows to support my back. It wasn't working.

"Here, allow me," Nuala stated as she came to my side. She put the pillows up so I could stay sitting without using a lot of energy. "How are you feeling?"

"Confused and dazed…mainly confused. How did I get here?" I answered her.

"We fell asleep on the ride back. Red woke me up, but when we tried to wake you, you wouldn't wake up. Nuada carried you into the Med-Lab so Dr. Krauss could look at you," Liz answered.

"How long?" I asked. Eric was running back to us. I could see the team behind him.

"Six days," Nuala sniffed. "Abraham and Dr. Krauss weren't sure you were going to wake up."

"It's a miracle you're avake right now," Krauss stated when he was at the foot of my bed. "Vee vere fery vorried."

"Why wouldn't I have woken up?" I asked. Their answers only seemed to add to my confusion.

"You were in a deep coma," Abe answered. I stared blankly at him. "We almost lost you a couple times." I could hear the guilt in his voice.

"Why would I go into a coma?" I asked aloud.

"Zee shtrain from usink your powers, or zee fright from zee hellhounds, or perhaps it vas somesing entirely different," Krauss stated as he looked over my chart.

"My powers," I whispered. "You said I went into a coma. Did anyone see her?"

Nuada and Nuala seemed perplexed. Krauss went rigid as he thought. Liz looked thoughtful. Eric was looking down. I turned to Red for my answer.

"Sorry kid," he shook his head, "none of us has seen her."

"She usually comes out when I'm in a coma though. It's her way of having control," I stated. "Where is she?" I felt a familiar panic rise in me. "What if I lost her? What if I have to start all over? What if I-"

"Stop," Nuada commanded. I looked over to him. What shocked me the most was that his voice wasn't loud or angry. It was soft and calm. I had never heard him use that tone with me before. "You are fine. Your friend should be as well."

"My brother and I asked someone to come and help us. They should be here later on today," Nuala told me as she rubbed her hand on my forearm. It was soothing, but I was still on the border of panicking.

"What time is it now?" I whispered.

"It's around two in the morning," Abe stated.

"Oh, guys, I'm sorry. Go get some sleep. I'll be fine. Some sleep should do me good," I told them.

"Okay, if you're sure," Liz stated.

"Yeah, staying up this late can't be good for the baby," I urged. She nodded slowly and I watched her and Red leave the room.

"Abraham and I will be close-by," Nuala assured me as they left.

"I vill be in zee hallvay," Krauss stated.

I stared into the only reflective surface I could find in the room, a small cabinet with a mirror on the front. My reflection was mine. It moved with me. It didn't have pale skin or pitch black eyes. It was me—completely and totally me. I felt the panic surge again. I was all alone; I was alone in my mind and my body.

"Who is she?" Nuala asked suddenly.

I looked away from my reflection. "I told your brother before that my powers hurt me…" Nuala nodded, encouraging me to continue. "I didn't tell you how. I was born with my powers. From what I remember, ever since I was three I could control wind and water with ease. Earth became easy when I was six. It took me four more years to get fire under relative control. During this time, I was having trouble with my fifth power: time."

"Five powers? And yet you don't use time?" Nuada asked, his tone acquiring a harder edge. I looked over at him. His eyes were hard.

"I do use time, it's just…not really me," I answered, struggling to explain.

"What do you mean?" Nuala asked.

I tried again. This time I knew I had to tell them about Tiara. "I have an alternate ego. I've called her Tiara since I was little. She and I made a deal: I give her one of my powers and she helps me to control the others. I gave her time. I kept the four elements. She's hated it ever since, but she still helps me. She's like an annoying mosquito that won't leave you alone." I smiled at the thought.

"And how did your power of time hurt you?" Nuala asked after a moment of silence.

"I was plagued with visions. Most of them were small and easy to handle," I stopped. It was the first time I had told anyone what I had been through. My brother knew a lot, but he didn't know everything. The others knew less than he did. "I could handle the small visions. It was the larger ones that were harder to handle."

"What were the larger visions about?" Nuala's voice adopted a motherly tone.

"They were different every time. The only thing they had in common was the fact they were always about death. They were horrible. It scarred me."

"How did you give them to Tiara?"

"She was my escape. I was bullied a lot as a kid. I even took beatings for my brother. When I was four she was, for lack of better word, created. She tried to help me with my powers. She was able to help a lot better than anyone else could. When I turned eleven she asked me if I would give her one of my powers. I agreed. After all, I didn't know how to control the visions, and she did." I felt a tear slip down my cheek.

"She didn't say which power she'd prefer, but I gave her the one she never wanted." I felt more tears fall from my eyes. Nuala began rubbing my arm again. For once I didn't care that people I barely knew were watching me cry. I was crying for my best friend, and I didn't care who saw me.

I felt the bed dip as Nuada sat next to me. I leaned back and looked straight at the ceiling. I could sense Nuada watching me as I cried.

"She's my best friend. I know that no matter what, she'll always be there for me. If I lose her, I'll have no one," I whispered.

"You won't lose her," Nuala stated. "We'll figure out what happened." I nodded. "Sleep. We'll wake you when it's time."

"Thank you," I whispered. I knew I had to sleep.

I stayed semi-conscious while Nuala and Nuada got up and left the room. I let my mind wander back to the first time I came into contact with the BPRD.

_I had finished my last class of the week, and I felt as though I'd just made a huge improvement in my life. I had finished college. I could finally be a teacher. It was one of the best days of my life. I was so proud of myself. I never thought I could balance everything I wanted to do and still reach this point. _

_I walked back to my dorm to see three men standing at my door. They were in black suits with sunglasses and radios. I felt like I had just entered a cop movie where I get thrown in jail for no reason. I turned on my heel and walked away. When I looked behind me I saw two more men in black suits._

_I had no escape._

"_Shit," I cursed. I turned back to my dorm room and walked towards it. "Might as well find out what's going on."_

_I strode over to my room and entered without looking at them. When I entered__,__ I got my first look at Dr. Krauss. I caught glimpse of Tiara watching me from the mirror hanging on my side of the room._

_He was standing at my desk looking over my pictures. At first he freaked me out, but I closed the door and waited for him to explain. As I waited I observed his large metal suit. I watched the gas in the glass top of the suit with wonder. I had only met a few different Fae, just a few trolls and sprites, but never anything like the man in front of me._

"_Miss Voodsmith, I am Dr. Krauss. I vould like to ask you for help." His German accent was striking since I rarely heard one, but I understood him nevertheless._

"_Help with what?" I asked. I walked over to my bed and put my bag on my blue comforter._

"_Viz controlink a vater shpirit."_

"_A what?" I played dumb._

"_Miss Voodsmith, I am fery avare you can control zee elements," he answered._

"_How?"_

"_Your brozer." His tone was smug. I hated my brother at that moment__; though__ it didn't take me long to push the feelings aside._

"_Why me?"_

"_If you know of anozer person vho can control zee element vater, please tell me," he teased._

"_Fine, I'll help you. But I better get paid. I won't do this for free."_

"_I vouldn't dream of it."_

Two months later I was a full agent of the BPRD. Krauss became my mentor. I learned a lot from him. Two years after that I met Red, Liz, and Abe for the first time. The memory of that day saturated my mind.

"_I can't believe we're going to be stationed together!" Eric yelled as we walked towards the BPRD Headquarters. After working for Krauss for two years, I was actually going to see the main facility of the Bureau. It was both exhilarating and nerve-racking. _

"_It'll be different, that's for sure," I answered. "I still wish I was working near Dr. Krauss. This Manning guy is supposed to be totally different."_

"_Meaning?" Eric asked. He put his eye up to the scanner._

"_Meaning this guy will work with us differently. It might take a few weeks, maybe months, to get used to working here," I answered as the gates opened._

"_So? We're working together. That's all I care about." Eric grinned like an idiot as I held the door open for him._

"_That's just it: we might not actually work together. Yes, we'll see each other around, but we might not be on the same team." Eric stopped walking. The secret elevator took us down to the real building. Eric and I knew most of the drills: eye scans, elevators, guards, etc._

"_So, we won't be working together?" Eric asked._

"_I don't know; that's what I've been trying to tell you. I don't know," I replied. I could see four people waiting for us._

_There was an old man standing to the right of a middle aged man. The middle aged man looked extremely nervous and kept glancing down the line at the others with him. I guessed he was probably our new boss. He was very different from Krauss. The older man seemed calm and had that fatherly look to him. He defiantly had kids; he must have had at least one. _

_Next to the older man was a large creature. He would have been easy to mistake for human if not for his red skin and horns. The horns must have been shaved off since they were nothing but short stumps. I caught sight of his tail as well. He was probably the fighter of the group. Next to the red man was a woman. She had long black hair and carried herself with confidence. Her face was blank, but I caught a look of anger flash across her features when she got a good look at me and Eric._

_Once the elevator had stopped, Eric and I got off. Eric walked two steps in front of me and headed straight for the group. I looked over to the supposed boss and saw his gaze flicker from Eric to the red man and back. He probably thought Eric was the elemental, not me. It wasn't uncommon. Even Krauss thought Eric was the elemental of the two of us. I didn't have a problem with it._

"_Mr. Woodsmith," he started. My brother looked from the red man to him. "My-my name is Tom Man-Manning. I'm your new boss."_

_My brother raised his eyebrow. "Alright then," he covered, "now who's the rest of this welcoming committee?" I caught the joking tone easily. I could see the red man hold in a laugh._

"_Thi-this is Dr. Trevor Bruttenholm," Manning introduced._

"_It's a pleasure to meet you both," Bruttenholm greeted._

_Eric nodded. "The pleasure is all ours," I smiled. I liked Dr. Bruttenholm._

"_This is Hellboy," Bruttenholm introduced. I caught the pride in his voice. The two probably knew each other well. "And Elizabeth Sherman." _

"_A pleasure, milady," Eric flirted. I caught the glare from Hellboy._

"_Eric," I thought quickly, "don't even bother flirting with her." I knew the statement would get me in trouble, but it would keep Eric safe. It would only work if I was vague about what I meant._

"_What was that?" Ms. Sherman snapped._

"_You heard me," I stated simply. Hellboy looked ready to kill me. I had no doubt he could._

"_Now you'll hear me," she growled. I turned to see her throw a blue fireball at me._

_I held up my hand and caught the now red fireball. I looked at her with a straight face. "You do realize that'll only work with someone who can't control elements right?" She gaped at me. "It would have worked great with my brother, but I'm different." I extinguished the flame. "I'm sorry if what I said hurt you. I only meant to let my brother know you weren't interested."_

"_Oh," she breathed._

The rest of that day I had come to know both Abe and Dr. Bruttenhom, who told me to call him Broom. Hellboy and Liz avoided me like the bubonic plague. The rest of the week was spent writing letters to Krauss and my family. Two weeks after I met everyone, Liz and I finally got on good terms. It only took me saving her from drowning.

Abe, who was easy to like, became my book buddy within a few days. He was always willing to listen to other people's problems. While I took a few hours from my schedule to read in the study, I would turn Abe's pages and let him read over my shoulder. I soon took to sitting against the glass of the tank when I got tired of getting up to turn the pages.

Hellboy and I began to grow closer a week after Liz and I did. I was training by myself when he had asked for a sparring buddy. I spoke up. A good four rounds later and we were laughing and having fun.

Dr. Broom's relationship with me was similar to my relationship with Krauss for the first couple of months. I would ask him any question and he would answer. Our relationship changed dramatically when I was told of my father's death. Everyone helped me through it, but Dr. Broom was the one who helped me grab hold of reality. I was forever in his debt.

My thoughts finally stopped racing and I let myself relax. As I readied myself for sleep, more memories came to mind. I was wired once again.

"_So, what do you plan on doing with your newfound control?" Tiara teased me. I had been sitting on my bed staring into my vanity mirror._

_I was a tired eleven year-old. It took me three hours to give Tiara the power of time. Tiara stopped time so I could sleep a full ten hours before my mother came into my room and made me eat brunch. After I had awakened and eaten my brunch, I sat on my bed and just stared. I stared into nothing for at least half an hour before Tiara spoke up._

"_Shouldn't I feel different?" I asked her. "Shouldn't I feel strange? I just gave you apart of me."_

"_No and no. Technically, you didn't give away anything. I'm you remember? I live and breathe through you. If you gave me something of yours, you would be giving it to yourself." Tiara walked forward in the mirror and sat down on my vanity chair. "So, what do you plan on doing? That career of being a professional psychic kinda ended just half a day ago."_

_I laughed. I laughed for the first time that year. Tiara laughed with me. When we finally calmed down I answered her._

"_I don't know. I wonder if I could be a teacher. I think it'd be great to teach kindergarten. What do you think?"_

"_I think you should do whatever you want. It's your life, do what you want to do. You won't have any more visions. You won't have to worry about those images flashing through your head any more. You're free," she stated._

"_Oh! Tiara, I'm sorry! I didn't think you wou-"_

"_I'm fine, squirt! I'm fine. There isn't really a way for me to be free if you aren't. Since you're free, so am I." I blinked at her conclusion. After watching her smile for a bit, I smiled back._

I smiled at the memory. Tiara had been so easy going with our deal. It had taken another three years for her to tell me that she didn't like her power of time. I had been so upset with myself that I had tried to take the power back. Tiara wouldn't let me though. Her words that day still haunted me.

_I sucked in air as I watched my full length mirror. My reflection was sitting on the bed, leaning against the dull yellow wall. Tiara sat there watching me like I was stupid._

_The only differences in our appearance were that my hair was recently cut pixie short while hers continued to grow past her shoulder blades and we had different clothes. I wore a pair of red flannel pajamas. Tiara wore a pair of baggy black pants and a dark green mid-drift shirt. The only reason we looked different was to help my family know who was who._

"_I'm not giving it back to you," she stated. "I don't care how hard you try, it's staying with me."_

"_You don't want it," I stated weakly. I had drained most of my energy fighting against Tiara's mind-blocks._

"_That doesn't mean I want you to have it. I'm here to help you. Giving you the thing that kept you from living life and having fun wouldn't help you."_

_I watched her for a moment. "How do you know what will and will not help me?"_

_She laughed at me. "Squirt, you may have had trouble controlling time, but it comes naturally to me. I've seen the future. Everything you do may change the future, but I keep tabs on certain things. If you take time back, all five powers will kill you on the spot. Your body forgot how to handle all five."_

"_I can handle it," I replied stubbornly._

_She laughed at me again. "Alright, alright," she grinned, "but you're still not getting time back. I may not like the concentration it takes for me to handle and control the power, but I like the fact I can see your future with it. I know what happens. Who'll you'll meet, what you'll do, how you'll live. I know it all."_

"_Even how I die?" I asked her._

_She nodded solemnly. "Yeah, I know that too. It's not pretty. I won't tell you though. I think you can change it, so I won't tell you."_

"Oh, Tiara," I whispered, "what have I done?"

I buried my face into the pillows and cried for hours.


	7. Chapter 7

Last Time:

"Oh, Tiara," I whispered, "what have I done?"

* * *

I buried my face into the pillows and cried again. I cried for hours.

"Cara," someone called. I felt my body shake. "Cara, it's time to wake up."

"What if she doesn't wake up again? What if she went into another coma? What if she's gone forever?" I listened to my brother ramble.

"Kid, that won't happen. She's fine," Red stopped him.

"How do you know? She could be dying right now and we'd never know!" Eric countered.

"Eric, she's fine. She's just tired," Jen Li, his girlfriend, soothed. Jen had always been able to calm my brother down. It's one of the reasons I had asked Krauss to move her here when I was leaving.

"How do you know?" he asked.

Jen laughed at him. "Sweetie, I think she's been awake for a while. Isn't that right, Cara?"

"Ruin my fun," I mumbled. I knew they heard me because they laughed. I opened my eyes to see all my BPRD friends.

Krauss was standing at the end of my bed, looking over my chart again. Abe stood near the heart monitor, evaluating the readings. Nuala stood near Abe. On the other side of my bed were Red and Liz with Trevor and Ethan. Nuada stood leaning against the wall across from the bed. Eric and Jen stood between Krauss and Nuala.

"What time is it?" I asked as I stretched.

"Around seven in the evening, I believe," Abe answered.

"Wow! I need to stop sleeping so much."

"It's fine, Cara. You're still getting better," Liz tried to assure me.

"Yeah, and we have to figure out what's wrong with you," Red smiled.

I laughed. "And then the healing can begin." I laughed with all my friends.

"Is the child ready?" a voice called from the doorway.

I turned my head to see a middle-aged woman watching everyone. Her hair was long and a golden brown. Her eyes were a pale green. She wore a dark blue Victorian-style dress. The dress fell to the floor and tied in the front with light blue lace. She was taller than my five foot ten brother, but still shorter than Nuada. My first thought was that she was beautiful. She stopped when she was even with Krauss.

"Hello, dear one," she greeted me.

"Hello," I nodded to her. I tried to keep my eyes on hers, but I couldn't help glancing around the room for a few seconds. Her eyes were dark, like one of the murderers I saw when I was little.

"My name is Metis. I was asked to see what has caused your illness," she told me.

"Thank you for coming. I'm Cara." I was able to keep her gaze for a moment before I had to avert my eyes again. She was making me restless.

"I'm aware. May I see your hand?" she asked.

"Um, sure," I replied. She walked to my side and took my offered hand.

I watched her eyes roll back into her head. For some reason when her eyes disappeared, it made me feel worse. I felt her mind push on the mind-blocks Tiara and I had put up years ago. I watched her eyes roll back to the front. She and I just stared at each other for a few moments. After she had probed my mind, it felt easier to watch her eyes. It was like the my apprehensions were suddenly lifted away.

"Lady Metis, what did you see?" Nuala asked. I could hear her slight panic. It was hidden under her concern, but it was there.

"You're dying," Metis stated, ignoring Nuala. I noticed Liz take a step back in shock.

"I realized that last night," I replied evenly. My memories of Tiara reminded me of what she told me about what my death. What I remembered was small, but it all seemed to lead up to this moment.

My brother gasped loudly, but I pressed on as though I hadn't heard him. "I want to know what's killing me."

"I'm not sure what her name is, but she's a part of you. She was fighting me the whole way. I believe she has the power of time," Metis told me.

"Her name is Tiara. How is she killing her?" Liz asked. The question came out quick and louder than her normal tone.

"It's not just her, little one. It's her powers. Every time she speaks to you or freezes time, she's killing both of you." Metis never once spoke to the people asking her questions. She only spoke to me. It was a little unnerving.

"How are her powers doing that?" Abe wondered aloud. I glanced at him. I could see the wheels turning in his head.

"The power of time has been killing you since you started using it. Tiara took half of your life when she came to be," Metis answered.

"So, my lifespan was split when Tiara came and every time we talk or use our power of time we shorten our life?" I inquired.

"That is correct," Metis agreed. She finally let go of my hand.

I stretched my hand out of nerves more than need to actually stretch looked around the room. Eric had moved back and was standing next to Nuada on the wall. Liz was leaning heavily on Red's side. Red's body was leaned against the wall. Nuala was sitting in one of the metal chairs, her arms laying on both armrests and looking exhausted. Abe was standing next to her and looked just as strained as she did. Krauss's shoulders were slightly down, causing me to worry about him.

"How much longer do I have?" I couldn't help but ask.

"I believe six months to a year," Metis answered. "I am sorry you have to die so young, Elementale strega."

I shook my head slowly. "It's not your fault I'm dying."

"Is there anything we can do to stop this?" Nuala asked quietly.

I forced myself to listen to Metis's answer, even though I didn't think anything would work. "If there was a chance, you would need to ask the Acheloids. They know more about Elementals than I do. I'm sorry I can't do anything else. However, I can ease your pain, if you wish," Metis offered.

I shook my head. "If Tiara has to feel this pain, then I'll feel it with her."

"I understand," Metis smiled. "I can take you to the Acheloids. They should be near my home, about a day away from my house."

"Thank you," I smiled at her. She was trying everything to save me, but I couldn't understand why.

"Vee shall leave tomorrow zen," Krauss stated. "Vee all need zee rest."

"Can I go to my room then?" I asked. Everyone stared at me. "I really don't like the Med-Lab, too many needles."

Liz and Red laughed at me. Abe chuckled while Nuala giggled. Krauss nodded his head and I started to take out the needles and other medical instruments on my body.

"I vill show you to your room," Krauss stated, as he offered his arm to Metis. She took the offer and left the room with him.

"You two should take the twins to bed," I pointed out to Liz and Red. The twins were asleep in their arms. While it was cute, they all needed sleep. "We'll figure this all out tomorrow." I swung my legs off the bed.

"You're right," Liz agreed, for once. "See all of you in the morning." Red and Liz left for the nursery and hopefully their bedroom.

"Goodnight, Cara," Abe said. Nuala had her head on his shoulder. She waved at me as he led her out of the room.

"Goodnight, dearies," I replied. I stood up and walked over to Eric and Jen. "Jen, can you take Eric to his room. I'll be fine getting to mine on my own." I was a little shocked when all he did was nod.

After they left, I looked around the room. Nuada was still leaning against the wall. His eyes were closed, but I was pretty sure he was awake. I jumped off the bed and walked over to him.

"You coming?" I asked him. He opened his eyes and watched me for a moment. "If you want to stand there all night, go right ahead." I smiled as I turned away from him. I walked over to the door before turning back to see he was still watching me from the wall.

I left the room and walked out of the Med-Lab. I had to walk down three hallways, just to get to my own hall. There were other paths that would take me to the Library, the nursery, or one of the others' rooms but they were longer than I wanted. I turned right after exiting the Med-Lab and hummed a little. After I passed three doors, I turned left down the WOPC hall.

WOPC was short for 'Weapons of Paranormal Creatures'. Any weapon the BPRD thought was dangerous to the public, it got stored in WOPC. Basically it was just a long hall with rooms filled with deadly weapons. It was kept dark so no unwanted guests could figure out which doors were which. Security in the hall was tight. Cameras lined the walls and left no blind spots. The guards ran in random schedules, each one with different times to do rounds.

As I walked down WOPC, I could make out someone standing in front of one of the doors. I wondered who it was, but brushed it off. As I walked closer to the figure, the door started to glow a soft yellow. I quickened my pace in fear that something was wrong. I pushed my tired legs forward. When I reached the glowing door, the figure turned around.

In front of me was a shadowy figure in the shape of a woman. When she fully turned to face me, the door slowly began to stop glowing. The inky black shadows that covered the woman's body leap out towards me. I screeched in fright. As I screeched, I stumbled back until my back hit the wall. I heard thundering foot falls coming down the hall. When the shadow woman heard the approaching person, she vanished.

I listened to the rhythm of the person's steps, attempting to calm down. The last of the glow to the door disappeared while I blinked. When I figured the person was close enough to see me, I slid down the wall. When the person arrived I continued to stare at the door. I just couldn't look away.

"-impudent child!" I heard the person yell. I looked up to see Nuada watching me with eyes of fury. A small knife was in his hand. He was ready for battle.

"What?" I asked quietly.

He blinked a couple of times. It looked like each blink made him calm down. Why he needed to I wasn't sure.

"What happened?" he asked. His jaw was set tight. The knife he held was moving from hand to hand.

"I don't know. I was walking to my room. I saw the door glowing and someone standing in front of it. I ran to see what was going on. Then I'm over here. What happened?" I asked myself. I couldn't figure out what had scared me.

"Are you injured?" Nuada asked me. The knife was gone from his hands.

I looked over my body for any injuries. "I don't think so. My body's pumping so much adrenaline I wouldn't know though."

"Where are we?"

"What? You don't know where we are?" I stared at him. My question seemed to make him angry again. "Well we're just a few hallways from our rooms," I told him. I would have thought he would know every inch of this place by now.

"Then we should head there," he stated. I nodded and made to get up, only, my legs didn't seem to want to listen.

"I can't move," I said aloud. "What happened to me?"

"Let's go," he urged. I stared blankly at him.

When he looked at me again, he sighed. He walked towards me. I stopped looking at him and turned my gaze to the door. It was glowing again. This time a soft blue. Nuada looked back at the door and we watched the door grow brighter. A figure appeared in the glow. I felt panic bubble inside me.

"Ease, Cara," a calm voice called. The glowing surrounded the figure to create a silhouette of someone in long robes. This one was different than the woman before. I couldn't place why, but they were different.

Nuada moved to stand between me and the door. I could still see the figure from the space he put between his legs.

"Ease, Prince," the voice called out again. "I mean no harm to either of you."

"Who are you?" Nuada asked.

"An elemental, like your dear little Cara," they answered. Nuada looked back at me.

"How do you know us?"

"I'm not of this time," they stated.

My eyes widened. "You're from the future," I stated.

"Correct."

My mind was less fuzzy and I was finally able to understand what was going on. Nuada was growling low while he continued to stand in front of me. I could see his knife had returned to be held in his grip.

"Why are you here?" Nuada asked.

"The answers you're looking for are harder to find than you think," the figure told us. "You will have to find the Masters."

"What Masters?" I asked.

"Of the elements. Every elemental of my time must go there to have full control. You were born into a family that did not have someone to teach you the things you need," they explained.

"What is your reason for helping us?" Nuada asked. His knife reflected the blue glow back on my face.

"My reason is my own." The figure disappeared from the door as the glow went away. "Be careful, Grandmother," I heard them whisper in my ear.

I let out a gasp. What were they trying to play at? Did I survive this? Why would they tell us and not the nymphs Metis has told us about?

"Get up," Nuada commanded.

I looked up at him to see him watching the door still. I slowly moved my legs so that I could stand. I braced my hands against the wall and rose on shaky feet.

"Nuada," I called to him. He turned his head to look at me. "What did they say to you?"

"Nothing that concerns you," he huffed.

I stayed leaning against the wall as he walked away from me. About five doors down, he turned back and walked back to me. I watched him stand in front of me for a moment.

"What?" I asked him. He shifted his weight.

'_**Where are we?**_' his words echoed in my head.

I smiled at him and pushed off the wall. "Mind helping me back? My legs are still a little shaky."

He nodded and let me brace my weight on him. I lead the way back to our rooms. It was slow going, but we made it after a long six minutes in the WOPC hall. As we reached our hall entrance, the agent walking the halls passed us. He was one of the few I knew that worked in the hall.

"Evenin', Woods," he greeted.

"Evening," I smiled. "Oh, do you have the time?"

"Eight-fifteen."

"Thanks."

"Not a problem. Hey do you know why the cameras are out?" he asked.

"The cameras? I thought they were working. I wouldn't have come down here if they were off. You know that," I smiled at him.

He laughed. "Yeah, guess you're right."

Nuada nodded to the man and we split ways. When we reached our doors, I let Nuada go and moved over to my door.

"Thanks for helping me," I shot over my shoulder. He didn't reply. I didn't expect him to.


	8. Chapter 8

Last Time:

Nuada nodded to the man and we split ways. When we reached our doors, I let Nuada go and moved over to my door.

"Thanks for helping me," I shot over my shoulder. He didn't reply. I didn't expect him to.

I opened my door and walked inside before it opened all the way. I flipped the lights on, then turned to watch the mirror and my reflection. A flash of black passed over my eyes.

"Should I listen to that person, Tiara?" I asked her.

My eyes flashed black again. She was still going to help me.

"Is that a no?" I waited a moment. There wasn't a single hit of black. "Yes then?"

My eyes went completely black.

"Do you know who the Masters are?" I was feeling dizzy. "Yes?"

My eyes remained black.

"You know who that person was, yes?" Another dizzy spell.

Black.

"They called me their grandmother," I stated. "Are they my child?"

The black faded. My eyes were my own again.

I smiled a little. "My grandchild?"

Black.

"I have a child," I said wistfully. "My child has their own child."

Another dizzy spell washed over me. I shook my head on reflex. It just made it worse.

"Damn, I'm not going to last," I mumbled as I felt myself collapse.

"… _Six… Seven… Eight… Nine… Ten… Ten… Nine… Eight… Seven… Six… Five… Four… Three… Two… One… Time to wake up, squirt. You need to get up," Tiara's voice called. _I felt her kick me a little. _"Come on, squirt, get your butt up."_

Knocking. Someone was knocking on the door. It was hurting my head.

"_Prince-ness is waiting," Tiara called. "Come on, I don't have time for this. Get your butt up before he breaks the door. Or I could just watch you kill him for breaking the door. I'll just sit back and wait then."_

"Alright, alright, I'm coming!" I yelled to both of them. The knocking stopped. "Can I get dressed or will you keep knocking?" I didn't hear a response so I just got up.

My legs weren't as shaky as last night, but they were unsteady. I walked over to my dresser and pulled out a pair of light blue jeans and a cream colored long sleeved shirt. Both the shirt and jeans had water and fire on the hems and vines and wind bursts elsewhere. I had started creating the decorations on them years ago. They made me feel comfortable, at least with my powers.

I walked over to my nightstand and pulled out the drawer. Inside were three boxes. I picked up the small blue crystal box and stuffed it in my front pocket. I left the wooden jewel-encrusted box and the red Japanese origami box in their places. I hoped I wouldn't need them.

I turned to look in the mirror. "Tiara, don't let me kill myself today. I really don't want to use any more boxes."

Before I could catch any changes in my appearance, I opened my door. Waiting for me outside my door were Nuada, Nuala, and Abe waiting for me. Nuala smiled at me.

"Are you ready to go?" Abe asked.

"I think I have everything," I told him. I grabbed my emergency bag and slid it on. "Let's go."

I closed my door after shutting off the light. The four of us started towards the Library. Abe walked ahead of Nuala and me while Nuada followed behind. Nuala was fidgeting with the golden sash around her waist.

"You okay?" I asked her.

"Oh, yes, I'm just a little worried." Nuala looked away from me.

"Nuala, you don't have to come with us. You can stay here. No one will be upset with you," I told her. I slowed us down just enough to let Nuada pass us.

"I know. This isn't going to be dangerous. I want to help," she told me.

"_You can't fight her. She needs this," Tiara's voice told me._ I instantly felt dizzy.

"Alright, but please be careful. None of us know what will happen," I sighed. "We love you way too much, Nuala."

We turned down the hallway leading to the Library.

"Thank you," Nuala hugged me. I hugged her back.

"We should catch up." We parted and walked the rest of the way to the Library.

Inside the Library, Red was pacing along the couch that Liz was sitting. Metis was sitting in one of the chairs. Krauss stood attentive near Abe's tank. Everyone seemed tense. Red looked livid. I wondered what had happened. I noticed that Nuala was uneasy and Abe's characteristic calm demeanor looked forced. Nuada remained by the door instead of joining the rest of the group. Their actions were worrying me.

"Alright, now that everyone's here, let's go!" Red yelled when he saw everyone.

"Has he been like this all morning?" I asked Liz. She nodded. "Wow. Miss Metis?"

"Yes, we may leave now," she smiled. I smiled back, though it was a little forced. She seemed off. I couldn't place it, but she was just off.

We left to the hanger. Metis's plane was waiting for us. I didn't ask how she had it. I didn't really want to know. Manning stood at the bottom of the stairs. Metis ignored him and went straight into the plane. Krauss started to talk to Manning, something about balance. Nuala, Liz, and I went into the plane first. Abe followed after we were seated. Red, Nuada, and Krauss came last. We took off soon after.

"Metis, do you know who the Masters are?" I asked her.

Metis looked at me with wide eyes. "The Masters?"

"Yes, do you know who they are?" I asked her again.

She turned away from me. "No, I'm sorry, I don't."

"Come on, lady, you've known everything about us so far," Red commented. "Don't tell me you don't know who these Masters are."

"I'm afraid I don't. The Masters are only known to the Elementals. Why do you ask about them?" The look she gave me set me on edge. It was like I should have known the answer myself.

I stood from my seat, but I wasn't me controlling my body. I was extremely dizzy.

"Woman, don't you even think about it," I told her. No, it wasn't me. It was Tiara.

"What are you talking about?" Metis asked.

"Your hands, let me see them," Tiara told her. Metis lifted her hands slowly. I felt Tiara smirk. "All of them." Six more hands appear around Metis. "That's much better. Did you really think someone who could control time wouldn't know about those?"

"I put a block on you," Metis hissed. Everyone on the plane went tense. "How are you able to take control?"

"You forgot about the future. See, Cara was visited by a friend of mine. This friend scared her a little. That happens when someone needs to erase a block like the one you used. Then another friend told her and Nuada what they really needed to do to save her. Your little plan backfired. You forgot the most important fact," Tiara leaned towards Metis, "I see everything."

"If you could see everything, then you'd see this," Metis hissed as she lunged at Tiara.

Tiara put up her hand and stopped her. Metis growled.

"You're still killing her," Metis smirked. "You can't stop that."

"No, I can't stop that. See, there's another flaw to this plan of yours. You forgot about all the other people on this plane. You forgot how strong and caring they are. They will save her. You can't stop that," Tiara smiled. "You can't stop them."

"Watch me," Metis grinned wickedly.

"_Squirt, think you can overcome the dizziness and hold her?" Tiara asked._

"_I think so. What's her element?" I asked._

"_Fire."_

I had control, but I kept the same expression Tiara had. I kept her position the same. My hand was right on her chest. My smirk widened.

"Tell me, what do you think happens to someone of fire that gets frozen in point-zero-three seconds?"

"What are you talking about?" Metis asked. She looked in my eyes and gasped. I smiled sweetly and froze her body.

"Okay, now that the fun's over," I said as I pushed the frozen body into the chair, "anyone have an idea where we can find the Masters?"

Another dizzy spell hit me and I stumbled. I fell onto someone. I kept my eyes closed to help fight the spell.

"Cara!" Liz shouted.

"I'm okay," I stated.

"You just fell!" Jen yelled.

"It was a dizzy spell. They've been happening every time Tiara and I have contact since I woke up. I'll be okay."

"You're having dizzy spells?" Nuada asked. His voice was close. I must've fallen on him or Nuala. I hoped him; Nuala seemed weak lately.

"Just a few. I can handle them," I told him.

"How?" Krauss asked.

I moved around and sat in between the twins. "It's not the first time I've had them."

"What?" Jen asked quickly.

"I've had dizzy spells like this before," I repeated. "Now does anyone have an idea on where to find the Masters? Our only lead is frozen right now." I opened my eyes and looked around the cabin. No one was looking at me. "Look, this isn't the first time I've kept something. I can't promise this will be the last. The only one I can't hide from is Tiara. That's made me protective. I'm sorry about that, but I can't make it up to you if I don't live."

I looked over to Eric. He was watching me. When I locked eyes with him he nodded. I nodded back. We'd had this conversation before. It would end with him hugging the life out of me. I never made a promise I couldn't keep.

A loud bang at the front of the plane shocked us from the conversation. Red jumped up and moved to the cockpit. Nuada was right behind him. They opened the door to the cockpit, but the cockpit was empty of any pilot. Red moved into the cockpit and looked around.

The air in the cabin shifted slightly. It was like what happened when an air sprite entered a room I was in. I looked around and spotted someone in the corner by the back of the plane. I let out a quiet gasp.

The person looked to be a female. She had long white hair down to her waist. Where her hair stopped, it looked like her body was gone. I could still see the wisps of her legs every once and a while, but otherwise she wasn't there. Her eyes were ghostly gray but they were still focused on her surroundings. She smiled at me with a beautiful grin. She looked around the cabin at everyone. Eric was already watching her. He was the closest to her as well.

"I don't know what the hell just happened, but there ain't no one driving this thing," Red stated.

"We don't need someone to pilot," I stated on a whim. The white haired woman smiled and nodded at me.

"Whatcha mean?"

"A wind Nymph can do just about anything with the wind around us," Eric explained. Nuala gasped. I glanced over to see her watching the woman too.

"Wind Nymph?" Red asked. Liz and Jen turned to watch the woman. A few seconds later Abe and Krauss spotted her too. "Where did she come from?" Red boomed when he found her.

"I was here from the beginning. Metis was foolish to think the Masters didn't know her plan," the Nymph smiled wider.

"Are you one of the Masters?" Jen asked.

She shook her head. "The Masters stay in their homes. I am the assistant of the Master of Air. She has asked me to bring you all to her."

"Well this day just keeps getting better and better," Liz sighed. I knew all the excitement of the day wasn't doing any good for the baby. "Would you like to sit down?"

"No thank you. I am fine here." The woman's body disappeared up to the bottom of her bust before her abdomen reappeared.

"How long will the journey take?" Abe asked.

"Only a few hours. I must keep the plane hidden from humans, otherwise it would take a shorter amount of time," she explained to us.

Two hours later everyone stopped chatting and a very awkward silence filled the small space. Eric and Jen were curled up together and almost asleep. Nuala was asleep with her head in Abe's lap. Red had stopped fussing over Liz and was sitting in the seat next to hers. I was still sitting on the couch with Nuada, though there was more space between us now that Nuala had moved.

"What do you know about the Masters?" the Nymph asked suddenly.

I looked up from my nails and sighed. Eric shifted, looking attentive.

"I don't know much besides that they can help me. My grandmother was an elemental, but she could only control water. Unfortunately, she died when I was three."

The Nymph smiled. "Your grandmother was a very kind woman. She met with the Master of Water years ago. To think that her grandchild was one of five."

"One of five?" I asked. "You mean have the power of five elements?"

"Correct," she kept smiling, "you are born into a family of water elementals, yet you are of five elements."

"So, there are more elementals in our family?" Eric asked sleepily.

She nodded. "On your father's side."

"Was he…?" I couldn't finish my question. My father meant so much to me. It was still hard to talk about him.

"No, the elemental powers of your family skip a generation."

"That's why, Cara's the elemental and not me; I'm the second born, so it didn't go to me," Eric commented.

"That is correct. Cara's children may be a different case. She is different than anyone in your family."

"Is what Metis said true?" I asked. "About Tiara taking half my life-span?"

"That is for the Masters to answer. Sleep now. I will wake you all when we arrive."

Eric put his head down and went back to sleeping with Jen. Liz finally closed her eyes to sleep. Krauss just sat there, but I suspected he was resting as well. Abe and Nuala were already asleep and looked like quite cute resting in each other's arms. I leaned my head back to try to get some sleep. It was a little uncomfortable, but I fell asleep eventually.


	9. Chapter 9

I hope everyone forgives me for having all my comments in there. Forget about them, please. Now I have to think of a whole new storyline. :( Most of my secrets were reveled. Sorry to everyone.

* * *

Last Time:

Eric put his head down and went back to sleeping with Jen. Liz finally closed her eyes to sleep. Krauss just sat there, but I suspected he was resting as well. Abe and Nuala were already asleep and looked like quite cute resting in each other's arms. I leaned my head back to try to get some sleep. It was a little uncomfortable, but I fell asleep eventually.

* * *

I opened my eyes and looked around the cabin. Everyone was either asleep or doing something quietly. Liz, Nuala, Abe, Jen, and Eric were sleeping in their spots. Krauss was sitting in his chair, reading a book. Red was watching Liz sleep. I was sure he missed Trevor and Ethan, since we left them at the Bureau. Nuada was watching the wind Nymph. The Nymph was walking around the chair I had pushed Metis in. I could see a puddle forming under the chair.

"Is the hold failing?" I asked quietly.

The nymph turned to look at me. I felt Hellboy and Krauss watching me as well. The Nymph nodded.

"She's controlling her core temperature. It's causing the ice to melt," she stated.

I nodded and stood up from my seat next to the prince. I walked over to Metis. I could see that the three inner layers of ice were melted. I locked eyes with her. She was conscious.

"What should we do?" I asked.

"We'll be at the home of the Master of Air in less than an hour," she stated. "We need to keep her locked until then. The Masters will decide what to do with her."

"At the rate she's going, she'll be out in ten, maybe fifteen minutes. The ice is melting from the inside. I can't do anything about that," I told her.

"That is not good. We need to hurry then." She turned from me and headed for the cockpit. "Tell me if we get too close."

"I will," I agreed.

Once she was inside the cockpit, the plane sped up. I looked over to Red. He nodded and started to wake up Abe. Krauss put away his book and began to repack his bag. Nuada stood and picked up Nuala, moving her to the couch we had been sitting on. I knew that they would let Liz and Nuala sleep a while longer. I would need sleep too, but I knew sleep wouldn't come with Metis working her way out of the ice. I heard Krauss start to wake up my brother.

I looked at Metis. She was watching us with a smirk on her face. I glared at her.

"Don't worry, Metis, I'm sure the Masters will be more lenient with your punishment than we would," I told her. "I'm sure Red wants you dead. Nuada even more."

Her eyes widened and she glanced behind me. I looked over my shoulder to see Nuada standing there. He was glaring at Metis. I smiled softly and put my hand on his shoulder.

"She'll get what she deserves," he stated. Before I could comment he turned away from me.

"We have arrived," the Nymph stated as she walked into the cabin. "It is time for you to meet the Masters."

"She's melted through six more layers," I stated. "There are ten more layers to it. We need to hurry."

She nodded and her windy body moved to the door. The door opened for her as I lifted Metis by using both wind and water control. Abe decided that he would stay to wait for the other three women to wake up. I smiled at him and wrapped some water around his ankles and wrists. Abe smiled back. He knew I was just being overprotective.

"Well, let's get this show on the road," Eric grinned though it didn't reach his eyes.

Red nodded and led the way out of the airplane. Krauss allowed Eric to go before he followed the two. I walked beside my old mentor. Metis was behind me. I knew Nuada was walking right beside the traitor. He was fuming.

We were on a mountain top, high enough so that the clouds floated next to us. I could feel Metis's core temperature lower every second.

"Vee are so high, yet vee don't feel zee cold air," Krauss stated. I felt his amazement also, and I knew it was there because of Metis though I couldn't feel it.

"The air's so warm," I commented.

Krauss nodded. "I vonder vat makes it so."

"The Master of Air does not like her guests to be uncomfortable," the Nymph stated.

"It's cooling Metis down too." I looked back to see Metis glaring at me. I smiled cheekily at her.

"Zee Masters must be fery strong," Krauss commented.

"Well, they might have had several years of practice," I replied. I could tell that the Nymph had resorted to ignoring us.

"Decades, if not more," Nuada stated.

"Do you know anyzing about zee Masters, Prince Nuada?"

"Only rumors. The elements of my people are quiet about anything other than what element they control," Nuada explained.

"I vonder vhy zey do zat." I could tell Krauss was starting to go off into his thinking world.

"Keep the secret of the Masters," I shrugged. "It's truly a great honor to be here."

"Only for those who are not of an element," the Nymph stated.

"So everyone but Cara," Eric stated. He glanced back at me and winked. I smiled back at him. It was good to know he knew how freaked out I was. "Don't worry, sis, you got moral!"

I busted out laughing. Leave it to Eric to make me laugh at the most inappropriate times. I leaned on Krauss as I giggled. My mentor didn't seem to mind. I'm sure he knew how I was feeling too. Krauss wrapped one of his arms around my shoulders to help me stay on my feet. Eric was walking backwards and making funny faces at us.

Eric grinned wildly before turned back to talk with Red. I started to control my giggles, but I was still leaning on Krauss. Red was chuckling at me most likely because my face was red and I couldn't breathe.

"_Come on, squirt," Tiara called making my head spin, "don't drop her."_

I nodded and took a breath to ground myself. I lifted Metis a little more to make sure she was off the ground. My head hurt, but I ignored it.

"_Atta girl," Tiara called. "Just listen to what the Masters tell you. It'll help. I promise."_

I felt Tiara leave the front of my mind and go into her dark part of my mind. She always went to the place I wouldn't try to reach her. It was the part of my mind that scared me; my instincts. I had learned not to use them years ago. Tiara was almost pure instinct. She helped me follow the ones I disagreed with.

"How much longer, lady?" Red asked.

"The temple is just beyond this next turn," the Nymph answered simply.

After all the quick turns we had taken, I knew I would need a guide to help me back to the plane. It made me worry about the others. Nuala's connection with Nuada had been fading. She had told me once that she could barely tell where he was if he wasn't in her line of sight.

"Will you be going back to help the others?" I asked quietly. I knew she would hear me. The wind was pushing us towards the temple.

"If you so wish it, Lady of Five." Her gray eyes turned to me.

"Lady of Five?" Eric chuckled. "I don't think she's a lady."

"Eric, one more word out of your mouth," I left the threat open. Eric flinched before shutting up.

"We are here," the Nymph stated.

We all stopped and stared at the large building. The temple was open enough for me to see four Nymphs standing inside. The roof was made of a large slab of stone, but nothing was really holding it up. Luckily I could feel the shifts in the air as the pillars of invisible wind held the stone up. There were seating areas throughout the first room where the Nymph Masters stood. Thirty feet past the Nymph Masters were large wall dividers. I could see shadows of furniture behind the screens.

I focused on the Masters next. The one I noticed first was the Master of Air. She had long hair that went down to the floor. From the roots of her hair and until it reached her mid-back, her locks were white. Below her mid-back her hair turned pale gray. Like the color of her hair, the style changed as well. The white hair was straight while the gray hair had a slight wave to it. Her body was corporeal, even though small parts of her would disappear from time to time. Covering her body was a long, flowy, dark gray dress. I could tell the dress itself was made of dark storm clouds. Every second or two a small flash of light would pass over some part of the dress. There was a permanent lightning strike that served as the shoulder strap of the dress. She was smiling warmly at us. From what I could tell, she was happy to have us. That or she was just being a nice hostess.

The next Master I noticed was the Master of Fire. This Master was a very angry male. His face was covered in a very unappealing scowl. His dark orange eyes glared at our group. His hair was very short and had many hues of yellow, red, and orange. The way his spiky hair blew in the wind gave it the look of fire. He was wearing a red tunic that was tied to him with a small ring of fire. His pants were black and brightened the red of the tunic. His skin was a strange shade of gold. I could see a scar running from his cheekbone to the point where his neck met his shoulder. Another scar crossed his right eyebrow, splitting it in two. I caught sight of one more scar, through the opening in the side of his tunic. I couldn't tell how long it was, but it made me wonder how many more his clothing hid. Attached to his hip was a gourd. My senses could pick up the traces of Dragon Blood, a liquid that was easily flammable.

The next Master that caught my eye was the Master of Earth. He was much taller than the other three by at least a foot; Nuada would be short in comparison. His skin was a dark tan. His dark skin brought out his bright green eyes. His brown hair reached the very tops of his shoulders. His hair had different shades of brown throughout. The strands closest to his face were a light brown and reached his jawline. He didn't have a shirt on, so I could see his broad shoulders and pick out a few scars that were a shade lighter than his skin. He wore a pair of light tan hide pants. I noticed a few vines circling his arms. They started from his elbow and ended at his wrist. He was much friendlier than the Master of Fire, with his teeth showing in a friendly grin. I smiled back at him, and his smile grew a fraction.

The last Master I looked to was the Master of Water. She was the smallest out of the four, most likely four foot even. She had ice blue hair that fell just below her bust even though it was held in a pony-tail. Her eyes were a dark blue, something that rivaled the ocean during a storm. Her skin was pale white and I could see that her lips were blue. She was wearing a small blue tube top and blue mid-thigh shorts. Her clothes made her look taller, but this didn't do much next to the tall Masters. Around her legs were small ribbons of ice. I was sure if she needed a quick weapon she would simply turn them into pure water, something I had done on many occasions. She wasn't smiling like the Masters of Air and Earth, but she wasn't scowling like the Master of Fire. I wondered if she was as unsure of us as we were of them.

"Welcome," The Master of Air greeted. I could hear a slight Spanish accent in her voice. "I hope your trip was well enough, even with Miss Metis on board."

"Slept most of the way," Red shrugged. I felt the urge to slap him for being so informal.

I was truly shocked when the Master of Fire started laughing. The Master of Earth laughed right with him. The Master of Water had a large smile on her face. Red looked back at me.

"I say somethin' funny?" he asked.

I smiled. "Just you being you. Don't worry about it, Red."

He nodded and brushed it off. "So, wha'd ya need Cara to do?"

The Master of Fire stopped laughing and turned to us. "She needs to learn control." His voice had a very distinct Hawaiian accent to it. I figured his home must be near the islands.

"She has control," Red defended suddenly. I could just tell he was itching to reach for his gun.

"Yes, she has some control," the Master of Air agreed. "What he means is that she needs absolute control. When you have this, Cara, you should be able to do much more than you already do."

"Like what, milady?" Eric asked.

"Many things," the Master of Water waved her hand out, "too many to count." Her voice was formal, but had a surfer edge to it. She sounded like she spent a lot of time on the coast of California. I felt like I had seen her before, on one of Eric's surfing magazine covers. She looked like one of the professional surfers.

"What about Tiara?" I asked quietly.

"She'll be fine," the Master of Earth grinned. He had a slight Australian accent. "We'll make sure of that."

I smiled back at him. "Thank you."

"Now then, you said that you all slept on your way here," the Master of Air smiled, "but I'm sure that sleep was fitful. I've sent someone to lead the rest of your friends here. The rest of you, follow me. I'll show you to your quarters."

Eric followed her without a second thought. Red was next to follow. The Master of Fire went after them. Krauss walked with the Master of Water, talking about the air around us. I looked over to the Master of Earth.

"What should I do with Metis?" I asked him.

"Ah, I'll take care of that." I looked towards Metis to see ferns rise from the ground and pierce into the ice. The ferns wrapped around her body and held her still. "She won't be getting out of that one."

I smiled up at him. "Thank you." I let my hold on the ice prison go and felt much better. "What will you do with her?"

"Probably a simple punishment," he shrugged.

I raised an eyebrow at him. "And that would involve?"

"Cutting of limbs, making her blind or deaf or both, cutting out her tongue," he replied. I stared at him with wide eyes. He laughed. "You're an elemental, Cara, to five of the elements. That means that all five Masters get to decide their own punishment. No matter how much Metis thought she was in the right, we know she wasn't. Putting a block on you like that, if left on too long, would have killed you."

We started to follow the others. They were all gathered in a large sitting room. When the Master of Air saw us, she started to lead us deeper into the temple.

"You're very lucky, Cara," the Master of Earth told me. I looked up at him. He still smiled, but his broad grin had diminished. "If Tiara hadn't been keeping so many tabs on your life, you would be on your way to your death. Once you got to Metis' home, you would have been bedridden for days. No one would have been able to help you, expect Tiara.

"She saw what was going to happen. She took steps to save you. She's seen the world without you. I don't know what that looks like, but it must affect a lot of people if she took the time and energy to do what she did. The world must need you for something, Cara. Tiara's taking a lot of steps to keep you in it."

His words shocked me. I was in a dazed state the rest of the night. When I was shown my room, I simply thanked the Master of Air and went to bed. I fell asleep wondering why I would be so important to the future Tiara wanted.


	10. Chapter 10

Reviewers:

Hope and Love: Thank you so much!

Starla Rose: I love reading and writing romance, but the muses I get for this hate romance. Your review has made my muses start on a prequel to this. I probably won't work on it until this is done, but I want to make one now. There's a lot about Cara that I don't want people to know. She's kinda learning about herself. As the story goes on, I want people to learn more about her.

Ryle Culler: Happy to know and hope I keep you wanting more!

Last Time:

His words shocked me. I was in a dazed state the rest of the night. When I was shown my room, I simply thanked the Master of Air and went to bed. I fell asleep wondering why I would be so important to the future Tiara wanted.

I woke with a start. I looked around following my usually silent instincts. I was floating in a dark room.

"No, not a room," I spoke aloud. My voice echoed. "My mind."

It was a place I had been many times. Tiara and I used it as a training place of sorts. It was usually filled with candles that glowed with strange colors. This time, it was devoid of the familiar rainbow of light.

"Tiara?" I called out.

I focused and grounded myself. I wasn't on a floor, just straight as I could get.

"Tiara?" I called again.

A bright light blinded me for a moment. When my eyes focused I was staring at the Golden Army's chamber room. I saw two statues; one was in almost perfect condition while the other was in pieces on the ground.

"Hey! Be careful with that!" I heard someone call.

Before I could pinpoint who it was, I was out again. I opened my eyes and noticed two BPRD agents looking at me.

"Well, don't just stand there, help me up!" I laughed.

The two laughed with me as they pulled me to my feet. Agents were working all around us.

"_I remember this day,"_ I thought. _"It's the day I met Nuala and Nuada."_

"Get back to work, you two," I smiled.

I walked away from them and towards the area I knew Nuala and Nuada's bodies were. I stood at the top of the stairs staring at the shattered remains of the prince.

"Manning said the threat was gone. If I remember correctly, Eric said Red left the bodies. That must be the prince."

Older memories began rushing back. My leaving the BPRD to become a teacher two years ago. Manning calling me and begging me to come back which happened one month ago. My call to Krauss that let everyone of my friends know I was back at the Bureau again. The memories were just small ones.

"I wonder if it would've ended differently if I had been there," I said aloud. Tiara didn't answer me like she did the real day. This was a memory. Tiara couldn't show herself in my memories.

"_So Tiara's showing me this day,"_ I thought. _"Wonder why."_

I walked towards what I thought was Nuada's body and tried to figure out what it was made of. I screamed when the pieces started to move. I stumbled back as four agents came running up the stairs, guns raised. They stared at me and laughed.

"I'm not doing it, you idiots!" I yelled at them.

My comment put them on defense again. They knew I didn't lie about moving dead people. Well, I didn't after getting yelled at by the professor.

I sat on the ground as we watched Nuada's body be pieced together. When the pieces stopped moving, the statue did a reverse elf death. I only knew it was an elf death because I had seen a total of one in my life. The stone-like body slowly started to turn into a fleshy one. It was amazing to watch. I couldn't take my eye off of him.

"_Don't stand up,"_ I thought to myself. I knew it would do no good. Memories were like watching a horror movie that you've seen before.

"Is that it?" one of them asked.

"I don't know," I said as I stood.

When I was finally vertical, I found myself staring into a pair of liquid gold orbs. I blinked up at the tall elf.

"_You should be running,"_ I told myself blandly.

"Um, hello," I greeted in the memory.

"_You are so dead."_

"Vile human!" the prince yelled. His voice made me jump back. "Do you know nothing of respect? I am your king and you will treat me as such!"

"Hey! I don't know who the hell you think you are, but I don't serve you!" I yelled at him. My usually light voice was laced with anger. "Get it through your thick head, buddy! I'm not some common wench! So shut the hell up!"

"You dare speak to me in such a manor," Nuada growled.

I moved my feet to stand shoulder width apart. I flipped the cap of my canteen open and pulled a generous amount of water out of it.

"Get it through your thick skull," I ground out through my teeth, "I am not some common human girl."

"_And queue the fight scene," _I mumbled in the quiet of my mind. This was one of the few times I used both instincts and strategy while fighting.

"Hollow beast!" Nuada yelled as he lunged at me.

I was slightly quicker, since I already had my weapon out, and shot a whip of water at him. The water wrapped around him twice before he jumped out of my reach.

"I told you to shut up!" I yelled at him.

He picked up a spear from the ground. I remembered faintly what Krauss told me about it. It was made of a metal that could extend and retract.

"Really think that that's going to work?" I smirked at him. I let the water circle me as a shield while I prepared for another attack. He was a being of wind; earth would do the most damage.

"You think your illusions can foul me, witch?" he shot back.

I stared at him. "I'll show you an illusion."

"Oh really? I would like to see something so amusing." Nuada circled me, but I remained facing the way I was. When he had completed four circles he stood in front of me. "Well, human?"

"Look down," I smiled at him.

When he looked to his feet, I used the roots I had collected at the ceiling to grab him. I held him steadily off the ground. He hung six feet above me.

"Now, what were you saying about illusions?" I asked.

He growled at me. Instead of giving me another rude comment he struggled against the roots. I stared blankly at him.

"That won't work, Prince Nuada." I told him. That got him to stop. "Those roots are from the oldest trees in Bethmoora. They've been following me around since I got here. They won't let you go."

"An elemental blessed by our city," a female voice gasped.

I pivoted on my foot to find Nuala watching me from the higher platform. I smiled at her. The water I had used as a shield shot towards her.

"Harm her, you vile beast, and I will-"

"Shut up!" I yelled at him.

The water stopped at her feet and froze in place. I had created a ramp to let her come down from the platform. She smiled at me.

"Princess," I smiled back.

"You must be quite strong for the trees to bless you," she commented once she was standing in front of me and her brother.

"I guess," I told her. "I just noticed that I had roots following me. Took me a few hours to figure out they were the oldest trees here."

Bright light surrounded me and I was once again in my mind. There were small green candles floating around, giving off enough light for me to see the rim of the mirror that Tiara used to put me in my memories.

"Okay, I see the mirror. Now where's Tiara?" I asked myself.

The mirror swirled with another flash of bright light. When the spots disappeared I realized my past self was staring at the entrance of the Troll Market. Nuada was opening the lock. As the door started to open, I was looking through my eyes.

The market was new to me. I was wide-eyed and loving every minute of it. A few of the Faes bowed to Nuada as he strode past everyone. Word had already gotten to the Faes that he was alive. It had caused problems for us the past month and a half. Red followed me while Abe and Nuala were staying back at the base to take care of an eight month pregnant Liz. Krauss was in the van doing his thing, though we were supposed to have minimum radio contact. I followed Nuada as closely as I could, but between his speed and the crowd, I lost him within ten minutes.

"Well, this is just great," I mumbled.

"_Just wait,"_ I spoke. I knew what was going to happen. I did pay attention however, since Tiara had a reason for showing me this day. She always did.

I looked behind me and noticed that Red wasn't there.

"Just perfect. I lost both of them."

I sighed and started looking for the shop Nuala told me about. She had said to go there if I had free time. This was as free as ever.

It took me five minutes to find the shop. The outside had a large chipped blue sign. The sign said 'Potions and Brews' in one of the many Troll languages. There was one door and no window to show any of the inside.

"Weird, no advertising," I wondered aloud.

"_You'll find out why another day,"_ I repeated Tiara's comment.

I walked towards the shop, but stopped when I felt the air being cut. The object was heading straight for me. I did a quick duck and roll to avoid getting hit. When I turned around, I saw a curved dagger stuck in a barrel. I felt heat rise in my body and surround me. Fire flickered quietly across my skin. It was automatic.

I looked towards the direction the dagger came and saw Red fighting some Elf. I knew it wasn't Nuada, even back then I knew the difference between the prince and a regular Elf. I stood up and ran towards the fight. Red dodged another dagger while he threw a left hook. I looked around and saw Nuada arguing with another Elf. The Faes surrounding everyone slowly backed off until there were none left but Red, Nuada, the two Elves, and myself. I gasped when Red was thrown past me. Nuada caught my eye. I felt the heat rise again.

When it really happened, Tiara had told me that the Elves were of water. It was the only reason I had let lose my fire abilities.

"Next time you pick a fight," I looked up at the smirking Elf, "you should know who you're dealing with."

Fire leapt from my arms. I always wore fire-proof clothes so it wasn't that big of a deal to me. The fire would jump from wrist to elbow, elbow to shoulder, shoulder to shoulder; the fire went everywhere. The warmth of the fire surprised me. It had been awhile since I had used my fire powers. Liz usually covered the fire department.

"What in the world?" the Elf next to Nuada gasped.

"That is the woman I warned you about," I heard Nuada comment. I looked over to see him smirking at the man. "I suggest you have him apologize."

"A-Apologize! He did nothing wrong, my lord!" the Elf argued.

I felt the fire leap from wrist to wrist in a high arc. The Elf in front of me took a defensive stance.

"I can fight with your prince for fifteen minutes straight before even feeling tired," the Elf's eyes widened, "do you really think that you'll survive?"

"He is dead," Nuada told the other Elf.

"I have not fallen yet, my lord," the Elf in front of me commented. His face was smug, but I knew he was shaking. I could focus on the details since it was a memory.

"Yet." Nuada crossed his arms with an even smugger look on his face.

"Keep your eyes on me," I stated. I used water to travel through the air. The fire stayed where it was, still jumping. I put my body back together when I was behind the Elf. "Boo."

The fire jumped towards me, burning the Elf in the process. He wouldn't die that day.

The light flashed again and I was back in front of the mirror. There were red candles floating around me with the green ones.

"So you're showing me times when I used certain elements," I stated. It felt like I should be talking to Tiara, so I did. "Which one's next?" My question echoed out as I was blinded by the light again.

I opened my eyes to see my first high school. The red brick building was only two stories high. The windows were covered with old blinds and students flowed around me.

"Come on, Cara!" my friend Jennifer called. She tugged my hand and pulled me through the crowd towards the building. There were Homecoming banners all over the hallways.

"_No,"_ I gasped. I knew this day all too well. _"Tiara, send me back! Come on, Tiara! This isn't funny!"_

I watched the world around me speed up as the past me went through my day. I kept screaming as time slowed down to lunch. My past self walked with Jennifer to our old spot for lunch while I tried to ignore what I was being shown. Unfortunately, I knew when a group of older boys came up to the two of us.

"So, which one of you lovely ladies wants to go have some fun today?" one of them asked, seemingly smooth.

"Neither," Jennifer and I stated as we ate our home cooked lunch. We knew them as the guys who took girls behind the school. They did what they wanted when they wanted. We wanted nothing to do with them.

"Aw come on baby, you know you want some," another commented. The third moved closer to Jennifer. I caught sight of him and repressed a hiss. "Just a quickie before lunch is over."

"I don't believe in sex," Jennifer stated. The three boys stared at her with their mouths hanging open. "I believe in a _man_ making _love_ to me in a soft bed, not a _boy_ _trying_ to be cool behind the school gym."

"I bet you're game," they turned to me next.

"Sorry, but I'll only give myself to my husband," I grinned at them. It was a lie. Jennifer knew it too.

"Call me a preacher then," the second boy smirked. He was closest to me; it had creeped me out back then. Now I was more worried about what came next.

"Funny," I faked a laugh.

"Come on ladies, just a little fun. We'll be gentle."

"Like you know how," Jennifer mumbled.

"What was that, bitch?" one yelled.

"Like you'd know _how_ to be gentle _and_ make love to a _woman_," Jennifer told him.

"How about I show you just how rough I can be instead!" He grabbed Jennifer's hair and pulled her up.

I rose to my feet to try to stop him, but his friends held me back. He started to push Jennifer's skirt down when my instincts took over. The wind picked up, but no one seemed to notice. I knew my eyes were unfocused on the scene in front of me. I had been more focused on creating the tornado around us. This time however, I could see everything that happened to Jennifer.

The guy stuck his hand up her shirt and wasn't going to stop. His other hand kept her pinned against one of the blue painted poles surrounding us. Jennifer tried to kick him, but he stayed in-between her legs. He started to kiss her when I lost it.

The wind I had been controlling whipped the two boys away from me. They flew back, but I stayed standing. I walked easily through the wind and pulled the boy off Jennifer. The wind kept him hovering in the air. I stood right in front of him and smiled. The wind lifted me into the air and I stared into his eyes.

"Touch her again, and see what happens," I growled. My voice was carried over and over through the wind, making it sound deadly and far more threatening than I was alone. (It's a comparison between her voices. I wasn't too sure on the wording myself.)

The light blinded me before the next scene played out. I remembered it though. Jennifer was so scared that she stopped talking to me. The three boys stayed silent, but it was like everyone knew what happened. I soon transferred schools.

I opened my eyes and realized I was in another memory. This one was far more recent; it was a few months ago at most. I knew because I was crying and the plant in the library wasn't blooming yet. The twins were playing on the floor. Liz was sitting on my right while Nuala was on my left. Abe was pacing on the floor. Red was slumped in his chair. Nuada wasn't in the room at the moment.

"Cara, I'm sure it'll be okay," Liz cooed.

"_What does this day have to do with anything?"_ I wondered.

I knew I hadn't used my powers on that day. I cried, sure, but my powers were dormant. It was the whole reason I was crying. Nuada and I had had a mock fight and during that fight I realized I couldn't use my elemental powers. I kept fighting until Nuada had me pined. He was just as shocked as I was when I couldn't dodge or make a distraction.

The light flashed again and I was in my mind. White flamed candles floated past me. The room was lighter but not up to its usual glow.

"One more than, right?" I called. "Water's next." I closed my eyes right as the light began to build.

When I opened my eyes, I was already in my past self. I was looking at the sky. I could hear birds and other forest animals moving about.

"_Oh, it's the camping trip,"_ I realized. _"But which year is this?"_ Every year, until the year after my father's death, we would go on a camping trip as a family. Sometimes Eric and I would bring friends, but that made it hard for me to mess with my powers.

"Hey, sis! Come help me with the fire!" Eric yelled. "I can't find the matches!" From that comment I narrowed it down to five years. There were only five years where Eric and I didn't bring friends and Eric's hair was just a little buzz. I could narrow it down to four if I was picky since Eric's voice wasn't changed from puberty yet.

"You can never find the matches!" I shot back. I jumped off the tailgate of the truck and walked over to where Eric was building the fire. "You just like to see me use fire."

"Can't blame him," Dad called. "You hardly ever use it."

"It's dangerous," I stuck out my tongue. Mom stopped setting up the tent and turned to watch us. "Fine."

I felt fire leap from my fingers to the dried twigs Eric had been using as kindling. The fire started immediately. My mom was smiling softly while my father was grinning like an idiot. Eric looked similar to my father at that moment.

"Gees, you guys are weird," I smiled with them. It was nice to not have to hide.

"Well, how about you and I go for a walk, Cara?" Mom suggested. I smiled and nodded. Our hike was an every-day-of-camping thing. Since she asked it meant she hadn't had her knee surgery yet. That narrowed it down to three years.

We walked down a small deer trail before going off the path and up the hillside. We took an even smaller game trail towards the cliff. The cliff was our spot. It overlooked the entire lake. There was a small tree standing near the edge. That narrowed my years down to two. Mom and I had planted that tree.

"Looks like he's still growing," Mom grinned.

"Yeah, I wonder if he'll ever be chopped down," I stated.

"I doubt it. Not many people know about this spot. And if they do, they don't know how to get here." Mom walked over to the edge of the cliff and looked over to watch the water.

I stood next to a tall pine tree watching her. I was smiling at how peaceful she looked. Mom was usually so stressed out over our lives, money, and my powers. She never really looked peaceful unless we were away from the world.

"How long do you think he'll last?" I asked quietly.

"As long as our family does," she smiled. "We'll teach your girls and Eric's girls about this place. It'll be our family tree." I laughed at her joke.

While we laughed, I felt a slight disturbance under our feet. Unfortunately, in this memory my powers were too raw for my past self to understand the feeling. The rumble got loud enough for Mom and my past self to hear.

"_That answers that question,"_ I sighed. I knew which year this was now. There was only one year that Mom and I had been disturbed. _"But why is she showing me this?"_

A large brown body shot of out the ground and into the air. Mom and I had stared at it. I could now tell it was a troll, what kind, I wasn't sure. The ground under our feet started to slip down the cliff and my line of sight was changed. Mom, who had been closer to the edge, started to fall down towards the lake's surface. I only stumbled as I gained my footing. When I realized what was going on, my past self froze the world in a light pink hue.

"_Wait,"_ I thought, _"I don't remember using Time. I thought I had used the trees and water to catch Mom. I'm completely in tune with my instincts. What's going on?"_

I then used several different trees to grab Mom and pull her to where I was standing. I had the trees release her before starting time again.

"What in the world?" Mom asked in a daze.

"Um, can we not tell Eric about this?" I asked quietly. I didn't know what Eric would do when he found out about what happened.

"Yeah, we'll tell your father when we get home," Mom agreed.

The scene faded into the familiar white light before I was back in my mind. There were small pink flamed candles floating around. I stared at them for a long time.

"Now I'm lost," I stated. "What does Time have to do with anything? I thought you weren't ever going to give it back. Has that changed?"

I didn't receive an answer, though I really didn't expect one. I looked back to the mirror. There was already a memory playing. Before I could figure out which one it was, I was blinded.

I hadn't closed my eyes so I saw the memory as soon as it appeared. I was sitting next to the tree Mom and I had planted. However, I wasn't a teenage anymore. My hair was only as long as my shoulders. That narrowed my time window to a year to six months ago. Since I was at the old camping site, it was around eight months. I could feel soft silk-like material forming a dress down to my mid-calves.

"How long must you stay in this place?" Nuada complained from behind me.

"Leave her alone," Liz told him. She sounded tired and annoyed.

"_So it's _that_ day,"_ I thought. _"The day Dad died."_ Of course it was a few years later, but it was still the anniversary. The team had gone with me to visit my home and the place we spread my father's ashes. It was nice to have them. We were staying at my childhood home with Mom. Eric was on a mission with Krauss somewhere in the Artic.

"Sorry, you guys," I apologized as I stood up, using the tree's tall trunk to help me. "I just got lost in thought." I smiled, but I knew it was fake. I knew they could tell it was fake, but it didn't stop me from trying.

"Shall we head back to the house?" Abe suggested.

I nodded before turning to look at the lake once more. The sun was setting over the forest to the left. I started to turn back to my friends, but stopped. There was a rumble beneath our feet. I recognized it from the day so long ago. The one I now knew the truth about. The one I had repressed for some reason.

"Something's coming," I stated quietly. Everyone stared at me.

"Like what?" Red huffed.

"I'm not sure," I sighed, "but I don't like it."

I hurried away from the tree and stood in between Abe and Liz. Red moved forward to stand in front of all of us. Nuada was not a step behind him. Nuala moved to stand behind Liz, Abe, and myself.

"Come on out!" Red yelled. He pulled out his gun from its holster.

"It's coming," I told him. I could feel the creature navigating through the roots and other underground objects. It never touched the roots; it wasn't hurting the trees. "Five seconds," I whispered. Nuada's long bladed lance slid into place in his hand. I knew the move well enough to know he wasn't considering the threat serious. "Four… Three… Two… One…"

As soon as I finished, the creature leap from the ground. It was a troll, though if it was the one that attacked my mother, I wasn't sure. It was tall and had a bulky build with hard edges and angles. Its skin was covered in moss and dirt clogs, but I could see a dark tan color as its normal skin tone. It wore a simple cloth of moss and vines around its legs, marking it as a male. There were several troll tribal markings on its arms and chest. From these I could tell it was one of the local ground trolls; they rarely came to the surface.

"Who trespasses on this most holy of land?" the troll called out from the shadow of the family tree's leaves.

Nuada moved to speak, but Red beat him to it. "None of your business!" he called out.

The troll's face twisted into a snarl. "I will not ask again. Answer me!"

"Great, another Nuada," Liz commented. Nuala giggled quietly. I rolled my eyes. The troll growled at us. Nuada, however, turned and glared at Liz. This caused her to start laughing. None of us were really taking the troll seriously.

That's when I felt more movement under us. I pinpointed it to be directly behind us.

"More are coming from behind us," I whispered quietly. Liz turned around and pushed Nuala to be between the space Red and Nuala left between us. I turned around to face the oncoming trolls as well. "They're ground, earth. Wind and water will do the most damage."

"Yeah, well, I have a gun. Metal against Rock. How'll that work out?" Liz asked as she took out her gun. She sounded a little too smug about the fact she was holding a gun. I listened as she checked her ammunition.

I laughed. "Not as well as you'd hope. And they're ground, dirt, not rock. They can heal a lot faster when surrounded by dirt. Soft usually works best for them." Liz huffed and hesitated before moving two steps behind me. "It rained two nights ago," I commented before she had finished moving.

"Who are you? And why are you protecting this land?" Nuada asked harshly. He wasn't always happy with his people and their actions. At least, he didn't like it when they were against him and Nuala.

"I believe we asked first," one of the new trolls stated. There were two in front of me. One looked the exact same as the one in front of Nuada and Red. The other one, the one who spoke, looked older. His skin was almost completely covered in moss. I could only see a small spot of light tan skin over where his heart would be, the right of his abdomen area.

"We're simply visiting," I answered.

"This is holy land, ma'am. You and your friends should leave," he told me. He seemed calm, but I knew troll tempers better than most.

"Who are you? I've never seen you before," I told him. He raised one moss covered brow. "I've been coming here for years. My mother and I planted that tree."

"Ah, so it is you who has made such a sprout strong enough to survive this rocky cliff," he smiled.

"Yeah, she is. Now why don't you all leave," Red asked none too nicely.

"I suggest you keep your," the old troll paused, "pet on a shorter leash, ma'am."

Red growled at him but I spoke before he could. "He is no more a pet to us than this land a simple pile of earth to you," I stated. The troll's eyes widened at my description. I had heard Nuada snort at my 'us' comment. "I am familiar with you trolls. You almost killed my brother years ago. I will not pretend that I trust you." I fought against the upcoming memory of two trolls attacking Eric while he was gathering firewood so I could focus on the conversation.

"You speak too much and too freely for a human," the younger troll in front of me ground out.

"I have been telling her that from the beginning," Nuada commented as he laughed. I rolled my eyes. This day had actually been pretty funny after we got back to the house. Nuada even laughed at the events.

"Ah, yes," I smiled sweetly, having finally figured out how to shut the trolls up, "I believe you had that silver lance at my throat and told me you'd cut out my tongue if I insulted you again." I turned to face Nuada. When I did I saw he was already facing me. "And yet, here I stand, still able to speak. How strange is that? I have insulted your fighting abilities, among other things, multiple times. How am I still standing?"

Liz and Nuala were giggling quietly. Abe looked thoroughly amused. Red was full out laughing, not holding anything back. The trolls looked stunned; they already seemed to have realized who he was. I had hoped my comment about his weapon would help them. Trolls were sometimes such silly creatures.

A flash of gold flew past me. I turned towards where the flash went. In the split second it took my body to do that, I felt liquid hit my face. Once I was facing the trolls, all I could see was Nuada's back and an iron sword that scraped his shoulder. Nuala gasped as the injury hit her.

"While she does speak too often and too freely, I will not allow someone to take her life," Nuada pushed against the sword and I noticed it was the old troll that attacked me. "Her life is mine to take, not yours. Do you understand me?" he growled.

I had fought back a giggle those months ago. However, since I was in the privacy of my mind, I laughed to my heart's content. Nuada had always started our training with comments about him taking my life. It was funny to watch him defend that 'right'. I focused back on the sad excuse of a fight when I heard Red fire his gun.

"Shit! Cara, where is he?" Red yelled out.

I felt the first troll move to attack Nuada from the ground. I knew he could feel it too, but he couldn't move with the first iron sword and the newest one being blocked by his lance. I moved three large steps to the left and grabbed ahold of Nuada's already ruined dress shirt. When I felt the troll only meters away, I pulled Nuada towards me. Surprisingly, he came without hesitation. As soon as he moved, the troll popped out of the ground and his comrades' blades slicing through his hard skin with ease.

I watched in amazement as they lifted their blades and his flesh healed instantly. There were two long cuts of pure troll skin where he had been cut. The three turned towards Nuada and myself and leapt. I instantly pulled the water from the ground and formed a shield in their path.

"Now that was just silly," I teased. More water collected in a large circle around them. Ground trolls hated water, especially clean water.

Nuada chuckled darkly as he walked towards them. Liz and Abe pulled Nuala away as Nuada walked right through the ring of water. Not a single speck of dirt entered the water; I wouldn't allow it. Nuada got ready to strike the old troll. When he did, he struck him right in his heart, an instant kill. The other two quickly followed him.

"Well," Liz started but stopped not finding the right words.

I put the water back in the ground, sending a little extra to my tree. I grinned at my friends. "That was fun," I stated sarcastically as I wiped Nuada's blood from my face.

Before I could hear Nuada's laugh, I was blinded and back in my mind. Small blue flamed candles floated past me, along with the other strange flame colored candles.

"So, learn anything?" Tiara's voice called softly. She sounded tired.

I thought for a moment. "There's more to this than controlling just Water, Fire, Earth, and Air. I have to control Time as well."

"Very good," Tiara called as she appeared in the mirror. "Now, it's only been a few hours. You should get some real sleep. Say hi to your friends for me, squirt."

I smiled at her. I had a very strange feeling that this would be that last I saw Tiara for a while. "I will. Take care of yourself, where ever you're going."

Tiara laughed. "Can't keep much from you, can I? Well, honestly, I'll be sleeping for a long time."

And with those final words, I was encased in the true black void called sleep.


	11. Chapter 11

I'm very sorry this took so long! I want to thank everyone who's favorited, following, and/or has reviewed for their support with this!

Now on with the good stuff!

* * *

Last Time:

"Very good," Tiara called as she appeared in the mirror. "Now, it's only been a few hours. You should get some real sleep. Say hi to your friends for me, squirt."

I smiled at her. I had a very strange feeling that this would be that last I saw Tiara for a while. "I will. Take care of yourself, where ever you're going."

Tiara laughed. "Can't keep much from you, can I? Well, honestly, I'll be sleeping for a long time."

And with those final words, I was encased in the true black void called sleep.

* * *

I woke up slowly. My mind was more focused on remembering my adventure into the past. However, my body was trying to get more rest. I groaned as I heard the door to my temporary room open. I kept my eyes closed as whoever it was entered my room.

"Cara?" Nuala's soft voice called. I was happy it was her and not Liz. Liz liked to yell to wake me up. "We're going to be eating soon. Would you like to come with us?"

I groaned and sat up. "Sure. Just let me get changed." I paused and groaned again, this time in annoyance when I realized my clothes were on the plane.

Nuala laughed. "We have been supplied clothing. We've already decided to acquire our belongings after everyone has had breakfast."

I looked around the room to find a pale white dress embroidered with elemental stitching. I stood up slowly and walked over to it. The colors weren't as strong as the ones I used, but they gave the same message my regular clothes did: I am one of the few elemental humans. I sighed as I checked out the backing and realized I would require help getting in the dress.

"Nuala?" I turned to the elven woman. "Will you help me?"

"Of course," Nuala replied. "So long as you let me do your hair and make-up," she smiled sweetly.

I sighed. "If it melts because I'm sweating do not blame me."

"I'm going to use elven magic to do your make-up," Nuala countered.

I sighed and started to undress. Nuala started to take down the dress so she could help me in it. After a good ten minutes getting into the dress, Nuala started on my hair. She put what felt like tiny braids in seemingly random places before she put my hair into a high pony-tail. I felt her pull the braids into a natural holder. I felt a light tingle of magic touch my skin of my face before Nuala told me to open my eyes.

"Shall we go to the others?" Nuala asked.

"Sure. Let's go see what everyone's doing." I smiled at her as I stood up.

My dress wasn't as constricting as it could be. I could breathe and move quite easily. The only problem was that I couldn't see my feet, and that bothered me. I was very afraid of tripping, as I usually did when wearing dresses. To calm my nerves I looped my arm with Nuala's.

"How did you sleep last night?" Nuala asked.

"Horribly. I want to go back to bed, but I now know what I need to do," I commented.

"And what is that?" Nuala questioned. Her voice was laced with curiosity. I figured I would have to tell everyone sooner or later. If I told Nuala she would give the information to two others, Nuada and Abe. Abe would probably help me calm down Liz and Red when I told them.

"I have to gain control of all of my elements: Water, Wind, Earth, Fire, and Time."

"Time? I thought your friend helped you with your element of Time."

"She did, but I don't think she'll be around for a while. It'll almost be like starting over. I don't remember much about when I had Time, but I know it won't be fun. I'll have to strengthen my control on the other elements before I start working on Time again."

"Oh, Cara," Nuala gasped.

"It's alright. I think once I get settled, you guys can head back. I might be here a long time." Nuala opened her mouth to say something but I held up my free right hand. "We'll all discuss it at a later time. Let's just go eat."

We finished walking and entered a large, open room. There was a long dark wood table that ran from one end of the room to the other. My friends and the Masters were all seated around the end closest to the door Nuala and I entered. I smiled at them as we finished our walk to our seats. Abe stood up and pulled out Nuala's chair, which was between him and Nuada, while the Master of Earth stood and pulled out mine. I was seated between the Master of Earth and Eric. I smiled at the Master and nodded my head in thanks.

"How did you sleep, Cara?" the Master of Earth asked from my right.

"Not as well as I had hoped, but I have answers to a few of my questions," I replied. Five Nymphs entered the room and started to pass out our breakfast. "Thank you," I smiled at the young Water Nymph who set my plate in front of me. She smiled in return.

"What questions have you answered?" the Master of Earth questioned.

"I didn't answer them myself. Tiara came to me while I slept. She told me what I need to do to have complete control." I started to pick at my meal that consisted of a small bowl of grits, four pieces of toast, a bowl of fresh fruit, and one piece of ham.

"And what is it you will need to do, my dear?" the Master of Air asked before her earthy brother and colleague could.

"I need to have complete control of my usual four elements. After I have that, and I can control all four without fail, I need to start working on my control of Time. I'm not sure how to go about that, but I can try." I took a bite of toast as everyone started eating.

"Cara believes that we should leave after she is settled," Nuala commented bluntly.

I glared at her, though my glare wasn't nearly as strong as it could be. I knew why she had said it. She wanted the others to agree with her on them staying with me. I wanted them to stay as well, but I also didn't want them to be hurt some way or another.

I listened as my friends yelled at me. Each made a comment about their thoughts. Nuada was the only one who stayed silent. This I was used to. Liz, Eric, and Red jumped to their feet as they spoke. Abe, Jen, and Krauss remained seated as they put in their two-cents. I looked over to see Nuala looking at me with a smug look in her eyes.

"Please, everyone, I'm sure Cara has a good reason to wish for this," the Master of Fire stated with his loud voice carrying even over Red's yelling. "Now, young one, will you explain to us?" he asked once everyone silenced.

"The honest truth," I paused for a moment. Everyone was staring at me, waiting for me to speak. "I don't want you guys to be hurt."

"That's bullshit, kid!" Red exclaimed, once again on his feet. He started to say more but Liz pulled him back into his seat.

"I know that's what you think, Red. I didn't want to tell you my idea yet. I wanted you all to see what I'll be going through first." I looked towards the Masters who nodded for me to continue. "It's going to be hard. My control is limited. You guys didn't know because you never saw it. However, sometimes I wouldn't be controlling my powers; Tiara would have whatever it was frozen in time." Nuala covered her mouth in shock.

"I know zis iz hard on you, Cara," Krauss started, "however, vee must take into consideration zat zere are people zat care about you. Vee do not vish to zee you hurt."

I smiled at him. "I know," I replied softly. "That's why I want you to leave. This training is going to be hard. You guys won't like it, I'm sure. However, if you do stay, you won't be able to yell at the Masters, or me." I looked over at Red for a moment before looking around the table. "I love you guys too much to risk hurting you."

Everyone was silent for a few minutes after I started to eat my meal. The Masters started eating immediately after me. Nuala and Nuada started eating not long after them. Liz, Jen, and Abe started to eat next. Eric glanced at me before he started to eat. Red was the only one not eating.

After I finished my grits I looked up at him. "Go ahead and say it," I smiled. Red glanced up from his plate towards me.

He sighed before he spoke. It was a long drawn out sigh and made me want to sigh with him. "I know how ya feel, kid," Red started, "but you told me a long time ago that doin' things alone wasn't the right way ta go about it. I'm gonna tell ya that now and I ain't lettin' you go in alone."

I laughed a little. "You can remember that conversation, but not the last place you left your toothbrush?" I asked as I laughed.

Red laughed with me as he nodded. "Guess so, kid. Guess so."

"I don't remember you saying that," Liz commented.

"It was before he and I went after that," I paused and thought about the day Red and I had spoken with reverse roles as to now. "Was it the minotaur in the LA sewer or the one in Greece? I can never remember."

Abe laughed. "It was the one in Seattle, Cara."

"Oh yeah," I giggled. "Anyways, you were in the truck, Abe was stuck in one part of the labyrinth, and Red and I were in another. Red tried to leave me behind. I yelled at him. Now he's bringing it up to try to knock some sense in my head." I smiled at Red. He grinned back. "Guess I'll just have to deal with you guys then, huh?"


End file.
